French police are hunting the gang of thieves who escaped with priceless jewels after an audacious daylight heist at the world-famous Louvre museum.
The Paris landmark remains closed after multiple, priceless Napoleonic era jewels, which contain thousands of diamonds, were stolen in a spectacular smash-and-grab that lasted only a few minutes.
The thieves used a truck with a basket lift and an extendable ladder to break into a second-floor window at the world’s most visited museum at around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, just 30 minutes after the Louvre had opened to the public.
Once inside, the four suspects smashed glass display cases and stole jewelry from the Apollon Gallery, a room where the French crown diamonds are displayed. The gallery is located about 270 yards from the Mona Lisa, according to the Associated Press.
A total of eight items were stolen, France’s Ministry of Culture said. These include a tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. The thieves also took an emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from Empress Marie Louise, as well as a tiara, necklace, and an earring from the sapphire set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense.
The suspects also attempted to steal the emerald-set imperial crown of Empress Eugénie, but dropped it as they fled the scene.
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati described the robbery as the work of “professionals,” telling the country’s TF1 TV network that it had been carried out during “a four-minute operation conducted without violence.”
Questions have been raised over how the thieves were able to so easily enter the building using a mechanical lift in broad daylight, force open a window, and smash two high-security display cases. A preliminary report said that about a third of the rooms in the area of the Louvre where the robbery took place have no surveillance cameras, according to French media cited by the BBC.
Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used the incident to criticize President Emmanuel Macron, who is already facing dire approval ratings in his second term.
“The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture,” Bardella posted on X. “This robbery, which allowed thieves to steal jewels from the French Crown, is an unbearable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the state go?”
Macron assured the public that the perpetrators of the brazen robbery would be caught.
“The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history,” Macron said.d
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