After an intruders managed to steal eight pieces of priceless jewelry in a quick-hit heist that shook the world’s most-visited museum, the Louvre Museum in the French capital closed for “exceptional reasons.”
On Sunday, police in Paris conducted a manhunt for the thieves as armed soldiers patrolled the museum’s iconic glass pyramid entrance and taped the famous Mona Lisa museum, which is famous for its depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Following the opening of the Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo’s Gallery), several intruders reportedly used a lift to hoist furniture into buildings to enter the museum.
Eight items dating back to the Napoleonic era were loaded with motorcycles that the thieves had stolen from within four minutes, with ninth items dropping on their way out.
French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the heist as an “attack on a heritage that we cherish” on social media.
He continued, “The perpetrators will be brought to justice.” Under the direction of the Paris prosecutor’s office, “everything is being done, everywhere, to accomplish this.”
What we know about the heist, which occurs as the Louvre is questioned over the presence of large crowds and overworked staff.
What transpired?
The thieves targeted in on Apollo’s Gallery, a gold-gilded, lavishly painted hall commissioned by King Louis XIV that houses the French crown jewels, around 9:30am local time (07:30 GMT) on Sunday as tourists were already flocked to the Louvre.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the incident as a “major robbery” and claimed that the thieves climbed onto a motorbike and escaped with “jewels of inestimable value” from the museum’s windows.
The Louvre ejected all visitors and posted a notice online that the museum would be closed for the day in “exceptional” circumstances.
As authorities opened an investigation, police meanwhile sealed the gates, cleared courtyards, and even blocked nearby streets along the Seine River.
According to one American tourist, Talia Ocampo, it was “crazy,” like a Hollywood movie, according to the AFP news agency.
No reports of any injuries, but four thieves, reportedly four, were still at large as of Sunday night.
What did the heist steal?
The Ministry of Culture confirmed late on Sunday that thieves had managed to get rid of eight items from two high-security display cases. Some of these pieces were owned by Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, and others by Empress Marie-Louise, the wife of French emperor Napoleon I.
These are the stolen items:
- Tiara from the Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense jewelry collection
- Necklace from the same duo’s sapphire jewelry collection.
- The sapphire jewelry set includes one earring.
- Marie-Louise collection’s Emerald necklace
- Emerald earrings from the Marie-Louise collection
- Brooch known as the “reliquary” brooch
- Empress Eugenie’s tiara
- Empress Eugenie’s brooch is yet another large.
According to the ministry, the thieves fled after finding the crown of Empress Eugenie outside the museum, where it was later dropped. According to the Louvre, the crown contains 1, 354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.
According to the museum’s website, the museum also has “the magnificent hardstone vessel collection of the kings of France” as well as three historical diamonds, the Regent, the Sancy, and the Hortensia.
According to Anthony Amore, an expert on art theft and co-author of the book Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists, the items in the collection were “not just in terms of dollars, but in terms of cultural patrimony.”
Amore said, “It’s not like stealing a masterpiece where the news media would immediately make this image public.” You might see pieces like this being disassembled and individual jewels that are difficult to tell from one another.
How were they able to steal?
Authorities claimed the thieves managed the minutes-long heist using a combination of power tools, motorcycles, and efficiency.
According to a police source, the group assembled on a scooter and loaded with angle grinders. They cut windowpanes with a disc cutter while gaining access to the gallery using the hoist from the outside.
One witness claimed to see two men “get on the hoist, break the window, and enter,” adding that the entire procedure “took 30 seconds.” He claimed to be riding his bicycle nearby at the time.
The thieves entered the museum, which is located inside a former palace, through the Seine’s facade, where construction work is still being done, according to Le Parisien. According to the newspaper, two of the workers were wearing yellow safety vests while working on construction sites.
Authorities arrived “a few minutes after we received information about this robbery,” according to Culture Minister Rachida Dati.
She said, “To be completely honest, this operation was very quick. It lasted almost four minutes.”
The hoist was filmed on camera leading up a balcony window, which some observers claimed was the thieves’ entry point before it was removed on Sunday, facing the Seine.
What’s going on now?
Forforensic teams have gathered evidence and surveillance video from the Denon wing, where Apollo’s Gallery is located, and the Seine riverfront, while the thieves are still at large.
Authorities said they also planned to interview employees who were employed when the museum first opened on Sunday.
The Interior Ministry stated that a detailed list of the stolen goods was being prepared, but added that “these items have priceless heritage and historical value beyond their market value.”
The thieves were referred to as “professionals,” according to Dati, the minister of culture.
She said that organized crime today targets art objects, and museums have of course become such targets.
Have previous heists occurred?
The Mona Lisa portrait vanished from the frame of the Louvre in 1911, making it the most well-known heist. Two years later, a visitor threw a stone into the famous painting, which had chipped paint near the subject’s left elbow, forcing the portrait to be moved behind bulletproof glass.
The museum has faced growing crowds, which totaled 8.7 million in 2024, and disgruntled staff who claim to be too stretched in recent years.
The museum was forced to close its doors in June as a result of a staff strike due to persistent understaffing.
Out of the museum’s total workforce of nearly 2, 000, the equivalent of 200 positions have been cut, according to a union source who requested anonymity.
French politicians and citizens were confounded by the fact that the theft occurred in broad daylight on Sunday.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply