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Louvre Museum heist rocked Paris on Sunday morning when thieves carried out a swift and audacious jewel theft. Using a basket lift, the intruders broke into the world’s most visited museum as tourists roamed its halls. They smashed glass display cases and escaped with jewels of inestimable value, according to France’s interior minister.
The Louvre closed immediately after the incident, with police sealing the gates and escorting visitors outside. Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed on X that a robbery occurred at the museum’s opening. Officials said no one was injured.
Seven-Minute Operation with Surgical Precision
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called the act a “major robbery.” He revealed that the Louvre Museum heist lasted only seven minutes. The team used a disc cutter to slice through panes before escaping on motorbikes. “They clearly scouted the site beforehand,” Nuñez told France Inter radio.
Investigators believe the thieves entered through the Seine-facing facade, where construction work is underway. They reportedly used a freight elevator to reach the Galerie d’Apollon — a grand hall displaying part of France’s Crown Jewels.
Priceless Jewels Taken from Napoleonic Collection
Reports from Le Parisien suggest the robbers stole nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and Empress Eugénie. One of the stolen items, believed to be the Empress’s crown, was found broken outside the museum. Forensic experts are now cataloging the stolen items to determine their exact value.
Louvre Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Security
The theft reignited concerns about security and staffing at the Louvre. Although masterpieces like the Mona Lisa sit behind bulletproof glass, unions have warned that overcrowding and understaffing weaken the museum’s defenses.
In June, staff walked out over “unsustainable conditions.” President Emmanuel Macron’s €700 million “Louvre New Renaissance” plan aims to modernize the museum by 2031, but workers say change has been slow.
Europe’s Growing Museum Theft Trend
This Paris robbery echoes other European art heists. In 2019, thieves in Dresden stole royal diamonds worth hundreds of millions of euros. Similar burglaries hit Berlin’s Bode Museum in 2017 and Paris’s Museum of Modern Art in 2010.
Despite enhanced measures, history seems to repeat itself. The Louvre’s most famous theft remains the 1911 disappearance of the Mona Lisa, later found in Florence two years later.
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