The Louvre Museum within the French capital has closed for “exceptional reasons” after a bunch of intruders efficiently stole eight items of priceless jewelry in a quick-hit heist that has rocked the world’s most-visited museum.
A manhunt for the thieves was underneath method in Paris on Sunday as police cordoned off the museum – famously dwelling to Leonardo da Vinci’s portray Mona Lisa – with tape and as armed troopers patrolled its iconic glass pyramid entrance.
Beneficial Tales
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French authorities and museum officers mentioned a number of intruders entered the Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo’s Gallery) via a window shortly after the museum opened, counting on a raise used to hoist furnishings into buildings.
Inside simply 4 minutes, the thieves stole away on bikes laden with eight objects relationship again to the Napoleonic period, dropping a ninth on their method out.
Right here’s what we all know in regards to the heist, which arrives because the Louvre faces questions over massive crowds and overworked workers.
What occurred?
Round 9:30am native time (07:30 GMT) on Sunday, as vacationers already roamed the halls of the Louvre, the thieves zeroed in on Apollo’s Gallery – a gold-gilded, lavishly painted corridor commissioned by King Louis XIV that homes the French crown jewels.
Describing the incident as a “main theft”, Inside Minister Laurent Nunez mentioned the thieves used a basket raise to achieve the museum’s home windows, entered the gallery and escaped through bike with “jewels of inestimable worth”.
The Louvre evacuated all guests and posted a discover on-line that the museum would stay closed all through the day underneath “distinctive” circumstances.
Police in the meantime sealed the gates, cleared courtyards and even closed off close by streets alongside the Seine River as authorities kicked off an investigation.
It was “loopy”, one American vacationer, Talia Ocampo, advised the AFP information company – “like a Hollywood film”.
No accidents had been reported, however the thieves – believed to quantity 4 individuals – remained at massive as of Sunday night.
What was stolen throughout the heist?
Thieves efficiently eliminated eight objects from two high-security show instances, the Ministry of Tradition confirmed late on Sunday, together with an emerald-and-diamond necklace that French Emperor Napoleon I gave to his spouse, Empress Marie Louise.
The crown of Empress Eugenie – the spouse of Napoleon III – was recovered exterior the partitions of the museum, the place it was dropped by the thieves as they fled, the ministry mentioned.
The crown comprises 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, the Louvre mentioned.
Apollo’s Gallery is dwelling to a variety of priceless gems, together with three historic diamonds – the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia – and “the magnificent hardstone vessel assortment of the kings of France”, in keeping with the museum’s web site.
Anthony Amore, an artwork theft professional and co-author of the e book Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Tales of Infamous Artwork Heists, advised Al Jazeera the objects contained within the assortment had been priceless “not simply when it comes to {dollars}, however when it comes to cultural patrimony”.
“It’s not like stealing a masterpiece the place immediately information media … would publicise this picture,” Amore mentioned. “You may see items like this damaged up and particular person jewels bought which are indistinguishable to members of the general public.”
The Regent diamond was not among the many objects focused by the thieves, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau advised BFMTV.
How did the thieves do it?
The thieves used a mixture of energy instruments, bikes and effectivity to drag off the minutes-long heist, authorities mentioned.
The group drew up on a scooter armed with angle grinders, one police supply advised AFP. They used the hoist to entry the gallery from the skin, chopping windowpanes with a disc cutter.
One witness, who advised the TF1 information outlet that he was driving his bicycle close by on the time, mentioned he noticed two males “get on the hoist, break the window and enter”, including that your complete operation “took 30 seconds”.
Le Parisien reported that the thieves entered the museum – positioned inside a former palace – through the facade going through the Seine, the place development work is ongoing. Two had been dressed as development employees in yellow security vests, the newspaper mentioned.
Tradition Minister Rachida Dati mentioned authorities arrived “a few minutes after we obtained data of this theft”.
“To be fully trustworthy, this operation lasted virtually 4 minutes – it was very fast,” she mentioned.
Footage confirmed the hoist braced to the Seine-facing facade and main as much as a balcony window, which observers mentioned was the thieves’ entry level earlier than it was eliminated Sunday.
What occurs now?
With the thieves nonetheless at massive, forensic groups have descended upon the Louvre and surrounding streets to collect proof and evaluation CCTV footage from the Denon wing, the place Apollo’s Gallery is positioned, and the Seine riverfront.
Authorities additionally deliberate to interview workers who had been working when the museum opened on Sunday, they mentioned.
The Inside Ministry mentioned it was compiling an in depth listing of the stolen objects, however added that “past their market worth, these things have priceless heritage and historic worth”.
Dati, the tradition minister, instructed the thieves had been “professionals”.
“Organised crime right this moment targets objects of artwork, and museums have in fact grow to be targets,” she mentioned.
Have comparable heists occurred previously?
The Louvre’s most well-known heist occurred in 1911, when the Mona Lisa portrait disappeared from its body. It was recovered two years later, however many years afterward, in 1956, a customer threw a stone on the world-famous portray – chipping paint close to the topic’s left elbow and prompting the portrait to be moved behind bulletproof glass.
In recent times, the museum has struggled with rising crowds, which totalled 8.7 million in 2024, and annoyed workers who say they’re stretched too skinny.
In June, the museum delayed opening resulting from a workers walkout over persistent understaffing.
The truth that Sunday’s theft befell in broad daylight impressed a wave of consternation from French residents and politicians.
“It’s simply unbelievable {that a} museum this well-known can have such apparent safety gaps,” Magali Cunel, a French instructor from close to Lyon, advised the Related Press information company.
