A heist occurred early on Sunday morning at the Louvre Museum in Paris, according to French Culture Minister Rachida Dati, reports The Mirror.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the jewellery taken from the museum as being “priceless”, reports RTE.
Speaking to French media outlets France Inter, France Info, and Le Monde, the minister said that “three or four” individuals were involved, targeting two specific displays in the Gallerie d’Apollon (Apollo’s Gallery) and managing to pull off the robbery in just four minutes.
A police insider reported that an unidentified number of robbers arrived on a scooter, equipped with small chainsaws, and accessed their target location using a service lift, reports RTE.
“We came immediately, a couple of minutes after we received information of this robbery,” Ms Dati said, reports The Mirror.
“To be completely honest, this operation lasted almost four minutes – it was very quick. We have to say that these are professionals. Organised crime today targets objects of art, and museums of course have become targets, because France, as you know, is a country of heritage, a country with historical objects of heritage with great value,” she continued, reports RTE.
There were no reported injuries among visitors, museum staff, or law enforcement officials.
A source close to the investigation said that authorities discovered a damaged crown from the 19th century near the Louvre, reports RTE.
The crown, once owned by Empress Eugenie—the wife of Napoleon III—is adorned with golden eagles, 1,354 diamonds, and 56 emeralds, according to the museum’s official description.
On its social media platform X, the Louvre—recognized as the most-visited museum globally and home to the Mona Lisa—announced that it would remain shut for the day due to “exceptional reasons”, reports RTE.
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