Brazen Heist at teh Louvre: Priceless โjewelry Stolen in Four Minutes
Paris’s Louvre Museum was the target of โฃa daring robbery on Sunday, resulting in the โtheftโค of eight items of priceless jewellery. According to the Frenchโ Ministry of the โInterior, โฃtheโค heist unfolded โฃin just four minutes, beginning around 9:30 am โ(07:30 GMT)โ after the museum had โopenedโ to the public.
The thieves targeted โคthe Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo’s Gallery), home โขto the French crown jewels. Thay gained entry by using aโ basket lift to reach โwindows, then employed power tools – specifically a โขdisc cutter – to breach the glass panes. One ninth item, โฃthe crown of Empress Eugenie, wife โฃof Napoleonโ III, was recovered nearby after beingโ dropped during the escape.
Culture Minister โRachida Dati confirmed the speed of the operation, stating, “This operation lasted almost four minutes – it was very quick. We have to โsay that โคthese are professionals.”
Authorities report โคno injuries toโ the public, Louvre staff, or law enforcement. Whileโ the monetary value of the stolenโฃ items is significant, the Ministry of the Interior emphasized their โ”priceless heritage and historical value.”
The Louvre was closedโ for the day โfor “exceptionalโฃ reasons,” โขas announcedโฃ on X (formerly Twitter). Forensic experts are currently โcollecting โฃevidence, and CCTV footage is being reviewed to aid โin the examination.
Interior Minister laurent Nunez described the theft as โคa “major robbery”โ involving “jewels of inestimableโ value.” Theโ thievesโ escaped onโค motorbikes. Reports indicate they accessed the museum via theโ facade facing the Seine River, an area currently undergoing construction.
This incidentโ is part of a recent trend of museum thefts โคin France. Last month, theโค naturalโ History Museum in Parisโ was robbed ofโฃ goldโข samples worth โฌ600,000 ($700,000), with โขthieves using an angle grinder and blowtorch. In November 2023,the Cognacq-Jay museum was targeted,with thieves using โฃaxesโฃ and baseball bats to steal snuffboxes and artifacts.
The Louvre itselfโฃ has a history โof high-profile thefts, most notably โคthe 1911 theft of โthe Mona Lisa, which wasโ recovered two years later in Italy, andโ a 1983 theftโ of Renaissance-era armour recovered nearly four decades โขlater.
