Louvre jewel heist: Every little thing we all know in regards to the brazen robbery – National

The Louvre Museum in Paris remained closed on Monday as police proceed to analyze a brazen daylight heist that lasted lower than eight minutes in total a day earlier contained in the world’s most visited museum.

On Sunday, thieves rode a basket lift (or cherry picker) up the Louvre’s facade and smashed an upstairs window and display cases before fleeing with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.

The heist took place about half-hour after the museum opened, with visitors already inside, and unfolded just 250 metres from the Mona Lisa.

Here’s every little thing we all know to this point about considered one of the highest-profile museum thefts as a manhunt for the perpetrators is underway in Paris.

The way it happened

At around 9:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, masked thieves used an electrical ladder and grinders to interrupt into the second-floor Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo’s Gallery), which is a big room where the Crown Diamonds are displayed, including the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia.

The intruders forced open a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the glass display cases, officials said.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the crew entered from outside using a cherry picker via the riverfront facade to achieve the hall with the 23-item royal collection.

The thieves smashed two display cases and fled on motorbikes, Nunez said. Alarms brought Louvre agents to the room, forcing the intruders to bolt, however the theft was already done.

The cherry picker remained against the wall where they entered. Officials say the thieves brought the electrical ladder and it was later removed.

What jewels were stolen?

Thieves stole eight items from two high-security display cases, the Ministry of Culture confirmed on Sunday evening.

They took off with pieces that belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, who was the wife of French Emperor Napoleon I, and others that belonged to Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III.

The eight objects stolen include:

Empress Eugénie tiara

Empress Eugénie decorative bow brooch

Sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from an identical set linked to Nineteenth-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense

Emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise

The thieves also took a reliquary brooch of Empress Eugénie.

Thieves attempted to steal Empress Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown, containing greater than 1,300 diamonds, however it was later found outside the museum, French authorities said. It was reportedly recovered broken.

What police have discovered to this point

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Forensic teams are examining the location of the crime and adjoining access points while a full inventory is taken, authorities said. Officials have described the haul as of “inestimable” historical value.

No injuries were reported following the robbery however the thieves remained at large as of Sunday night.

Based on French media, there have been 4 perpetrators: two dressed as construction staff in yellow safety vests on the lift, and two each on a scooter. French authorities didn’t immediately comment on this.

Investigators are reviewing CCTV from the Denon wing and the riverfront, inspecting the cherry picker used to achieve the gallery and interviewing staff who were on site when the museum opened, authorities said.

Five museum staff were within the room and adjoining rooms when the robbery took place and immediately contacted police, the culture ministry said.

The Ministry of Culture thanked its employees for calling police, which resulted within the thieves fleeing and abandoning their equipment.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati said investigators are working on evidence found on the scene.

“We did find motorcycles they usually have a licence plate,” Dati told news broadcaster CNews. “I also wish to pay tribute to the safety officers who prevented the basket lift from being set on fire. Certainly one of the criminals tried to set it on fire, but they forced him to flee. This allowed us to get better evidence on the scene.”

Officials said the heist lasted lower than eight minutes in total, including lower than 4 minutes contained in the Louvre.

“They went straight to the display windows, they knew exactly what they wanted. They were very efficient,” Dati said.

Dati stressed that a decade-long “Louvre Recent Renaissance” plan that was launched earlier this yr includes security improvements.

“When the Louvre Museum was designed, it was not meant to accommodate 10 million visitors,” she said.

The 700-million-euro plan is meant to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and provides the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.

When will the Louvre reopen?

The Louvre closed for the remaining of Sunday for the forensic investigation to start as police sealed gates, cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the Seine.

The museum said Monday that it could remain closed.

“Visitors who’ve already booked tickets will likely be refunded,” it said in an announcement on X.

The museum’s staff asked dozens of tourists who were queuing in front of the glass pyramid entrance to go away.

It currently stays unclear when the museum may reopen to the general public. The Louvre is at all times closed on Tuesdays, so the earliest it could reopen this week can be Wednesday, the BBC reports.

What French politicians are saying in regards to the theft

French President Emmanuel Macron took to social media, calling the heist an “attack on a heritage that we cherish since it is our history.”

“The perpetrators will likely be delivered to justice,” Macron added. “Every little thing is being done, all over the place, to attain this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor’s office.”

Gérald Darmanin, France’s justice minister, told France Inter radio that “the French people, for essentially the most part, feel as if they’ve been robbed.”

“In the identical way that when Notre-Dame burned, it was our church that was burning — even in case you weren’t Catholic — such an incredible jewelry robbery on the Louvre looks bad,” Darmania added.

Darmanin also acknowledged security failures on Monday.

“One can wonder in regards to the undeniable fact that, for instance, the windows hadn’t been secured, in regards to the undeniable fact that a basket lift was on a public road,” he said. “Having (previously) been interior minister, I do know that we cannot completely secure all places, but what is for certain is that we’ve failed.”

Interior Minister Nunez ordered prefects across France to instantly reassess security measures protecting museums and other cultural sites and enhance them if mandatory.

— With files from The Associated Press