Louvre heist: Crown jewels stolen in 4-minute daytime raid

By THOMAS ADAMSON PARIS AP In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world s most-visited museum thieves rode a basket lift to the Louvre forced a window into the Galerie d Apollon while tourists pressed shoulder-to-shoulder in the corridors smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels administrators announced Related Articles In the current era in History October Black Monday on Wall Street Israel says Hamas hands over coffins of deceased hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza US will send survivors of strike on suspected drug vessel back to Ecuador and Colombia Trump says EU definitively has a plan to fend off the US and China but it s running out of time In contemporary times in History October Mr October hits three homers to clinch World Series It was among the highest-profile museum thefts in latest memory and comes as Louvre employees have complained of worker and shield understaffing One object was later revealed outside the museum according to Civilization Minister Rachida Dati French daily Le Parisien revealed it was the emerald-studded crown of Napoleon III s wife Empress Eug nie gold diamonds and sculpted eagles recovered just beyond the walls broken Dati called the strike the work of professionals describing it on TF TV grid as a four-minute operation carried out without violence Images from the scene revealed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine Also visible was a lift braced to the Seine-facing facade near a construction zone an extraordinary vulnerability at a palace-museum A museum already under strain Around a m several intruders forced a window cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the vitrines leaders disclosed Interior Minister Laurent Nu ez announced the crew entered from outside using a basket lift The choice of target compounded the shock The vaulted Galerie d Apollon in the Denon wing capped by a ceiling painted for Louis XIV displays a selection of the French Crown Jewels The thieves are deduced to have approached via the riverfront facade where construction is underway used a freight elevator to reach the hall took nine pieces from a -item collection linked to Napoleon and the Empress and made off on motorbikes according to Le Parisien Daylight robberies during inhabitants hours are rare Pulling one off inside the Louvre with visitors present ranks among Europe s the majority audacious since Dresden s Green Vault museum in and the greater part serious in France in more than a decade It also collides with a deeper tension the Louvre has struggled to resolve swelling crowds and stretched staff The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing Unions say mass tourism leaves too scarce eyes on too various rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones freight routes and visitor flows meet Safeguard around marquee works remains tight the Mona Lisa is behind bulletproof glass in a bespoke climate-controlled incident It s unclear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday s breach The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies The the majority famous came in when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered two years later in Florence Currently the former royal palace holds a roll call of civilization Leonardo s Mona Lisa the armless serenity of the Venus de Milo the Winged Mastery of Samothrace wind-lashed on the Daru staircase the Code of Hammurabi s carved laws Delacroix s Liberty Leading the People G ricault s The Raft of the Medusa More than works from Mesopotamia Egypt and the classical world to Europe s masters draw a daily tide of up to visitors even as investigators now begin to sweep those gilded corridors for clues Politics at the door The heist spilled instantly into politics Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used it to attack President Emmanuel Macron weakened at home and facing a fractured parliament The Louvre is a global symbol of our values Bardella wrote on X This robbery which allowed thieves to steal jewels from the French Crown is an unbearable humiliation for our country How far will the decay of the state go The criticism lands as Macron touts a decade-long Louvre New Renaissance plan about million to modernize infrastructure ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by For workers on the floor the relief has felt slower than the pressure What we know and don t Forensic teams are examining the site of the crime and adjoining access points while a full inventory is taken functionaries revealed Agents have described the haul as of inestimable historical value Recovery may prove tough It s unlikely these jewels will ever be seen again reported Tobias Kormind managing director of Diamonds Professional crews often break down and re-cut large recognizable stones to evade detection effectively erasing their provenance The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday as police sealed gates cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the Seine Key questions still unanswered are how various people took part in the theft and whether they had inside assistance agents revealed According to French media there were four perpetrators two dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests on the lift and two each on a scooter Investigators are reviewing CCTV from the Denon wing and the riverfront inspecting the basket lift used to reach the gallery and interviewing staff who were on site when the museum opened functionaries commented Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this review