Louvre Museum Heist: Thieves Steal Priceless Crown Jewels in Broad Daylight

French President Emmanuel Macron has assured that "everything is being done" to catch the perpetrators and recover the stolen treasures. Outside the Louvre, soldiers patrolled the famed glass pyramid entrance, and evacuated visitors, tourists, and passersby were kept at a distance behind police tape. The heist, which forced the closure of the world's most-visited museum, is part of several high-profile robberies targeting French museums in recent months. The museum's management stated that eight items of jewelry were stolen from the Apollo Gallery, including the emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon gave his wife Empress Marie Louise and the 19th-century crown of Empress Eugenie.

Key Takeaways:

• The thieves, a team of four, used powered angle grinders to break into high-security display cases and stole eight priceless cultural heritage objects, including the emerald-and-diamond necklace and the 19th-century crown of Empress Eugenie.
• The robbers arrived between 9:30 and 9:40 am, shortly after the museum opened to the public, and escaped on scooters in under 7 minutes, leaving behind a gem-encrusted crown.
• The thieves used a powered, extendable ladder to access the gilded gallery, where the display cases were located.
• The stolen objects also included a necklace from the sapphire jewelry of Queen Marie Amelie and Queen Hortense and a pair of emerald earrings that once belonged to Marie Louise.
• The investigation is ongoing, with police using a team of 60 investigators to track down the perpetrators.
• The Louvre's management has closed the museum to preserve traces and clues for the investigation.
• The heist has sparked outrage among opposition politicians, who have denounced the incident as an "unbearable humiliation for our country."

Statistics:

• The thieves escaped in under 7 minutes.
• The recovered gem-encrusted crown is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.
• The stolen objects include the emerald-and-diamond necklace, the 19th-century crown of Empress Eugenie, a necklace from the sapphire jewelry of Queen Marie Amelie and Queen Hortense, and a pair of emerald earrings that once belonged to Marie Louise.
• The investigation involves a team of 60 investigators.

Sources:

• 'Priceless' treasures - A culture ministry statement.
• It was "like a Hollywood movie", one American tourist, Talia Ocampo, told AFP.
• "Two high-security display cases were targeted, and eight objects of priceless cultural heritage were stolen," a culture ministry statement said.
• Police are looking for a team of four thieves, Paris's chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau told the BFMTV channel.
• The thieves had threatened museum guards with the angle grinders they used to break into the jewellery cases, she said.
• The robbers used a powered, extendable ladder of the sort used to hoist furniture into buildings to get into the gilded gallery, said officials.
• According to the museum's website, the 19th-century crown of Empress Eugenie is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.