A daytime, daylight robbery forced the Louvre to close Sunday after thieves broke into the museum and made off with jewels of “inestimable” cultural value in the Galerie d’Apollon, French officials said. The museum announced that it was shut “for exceptional reasons.”
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati stated that a foiled robbery was discovered at opening hours and no one was injured. She stated she was present along with police officers and museum staffs when investigators attempted to seal the area.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated to France Inter radio that the robbery took about seven minutes to perform and involved thieves coming from the outside with a basket lift, smashing display cases, and then leaving. The minister spoke of the items stolen as “priceless” and of irreplaceable cultural heritage value.
The officials added that the robbers fled on two-wheelers and that a list is being prepared to identify what was stolen and precisely. Something was discovered in the escape in the open and is being examined, the officials added.
Security camera footage is being examined by the officials as part of a thorough forensic sweep of the museum.
Police are taking a complete inventory of what was stolen and are tracing the route the breakers walked on entering and departing the museum. The Louvre stated that it will make announcements as the investigation continues.
The Louvre Museum, located in Paris (France) is one of the most emblematic museums in the world. Originally, it was a royal palace, but was transformed into a museum during the French Revolution in 1793.
“Today, it houses one of the largest and most prestigious art collections in the world, with more than 380,000 objects, including sculptures, paintings, antiquities and other pieces from various civilizations,” the museum said.
The Louvre is the world’s most visited art museum, renowned for its iconic masterpieces such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, The Venus de Milo and Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People. It also has exhibitions of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Islamic, Asian and other cultural art.
