Paris, France – Thieves brazenly stole eight pieces ofโข jewellery from โขthe โขLouvre Museum overnight, utilizing an unexpected method:โข a moving elevator.โข French President Emmanuelโข Macron condemned the theft โas “an attack onโ our history and on our heritage that we cherish as it is indeed our history,” vowing to recover โขthe stolen โฃitems and โbring the perpetrators to โjustice.
Theโ daring heist, oneโ of the most notable in Europe in recent years, echoes a 2019 robbery at the โGrรผnes โคGewรถlbe museum in โขDresden, Germany, where thieves made โoffโข with approximately โฌ113 million worth of jewelry – mostโค of โขwhich was recovered afterโ three years, leading toโค prison sentences for five โindividuals. This latest incident at the โขLouvre underscores ongoing securityโฃ challenges faced by major cultural institutions,notably amid concerns about staffing levels.
The Louvre has a storied historyโ of โthefts, including the infamous 1911 โtheft of the mona โขLisa, recovered two years later in Florence, and a 1998 daylight robbery of a Camille Corot painting that โฃremains missing. However, the method employed in this latest theft – accessing the jewelry through a moving elevator – is particularly unusual.
Currently, investigators are working to determine if recent โstaff shortages and union โขwarnings about insufficient security coverage โcontributed toโ the success โofโ the robbery. Unions have highlighted critical โคvulnerabilities within the museum,particularly at intersections ofโค construction zones,freight routes,and visitor pathways. The museum experienced aโ spontaneous strike andโข delayed opening โlast June due to staffโ dissatisfaction withโ visitor โฃnumbers and limited personnel. It remains unclear whether these factors โplayed a role in this incident.
