Louvre Heist: Thieves Use Chainsaws and a Cherry Picker to Steal Priceless Jewellery

An extraordinary daylight heist at the Louvre museum in Paris has left authorities stunned. The thieves, armed with chainsaws and a cherry picker, broke into the Galerie d'Apollon, which houses the French crown jewels, and made off with nine pieces of priceless jewellery. The group of three or four thieves entered the museum at 9.30am local time, using a large extendable ladder mounted on a lorry, and escaped on a scooter. The stolen items are believed to have included pieces belonging to Napoleon and Empress Marie-Louise, although police have not confirmed the exact pieces taken. A piece of jewellery was found broken in the wake of the thieves' escape, which French media outlets have identified as a 19th-century crown belonging to Empress Eugenie. The investigation is ongoing, with police describing the heist as "organised theft and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime".

Key Takeaways:

• The heist occurred at 9:30am local time, with the thieves entering the museum using a large extendable mechanised ladder mounted on a lorry, similar to a cherry picker.
• The group of three to four thieves made away with nine pieces of priceless jewellery, including items believed to have belonged to Napoleon and Empress Marie-Louise.
• The stolen items are described as being of "inestimable" historical value, with the precise value currently being calculated by the French authorities.
• A piece of jewellery was found broken in the wake of the thieves' escape, which has been identified as a 19th-century crown belonging to Empress Eugenie.
• The investigation is being supported by a service that fights illegal trafficking of cultural goods, and the Parisian public prosecutor's office has confirmed it has opened an investigation into the heist.
• The theatre of the heist unfolded in broad daylight, with videos showing tourists being ushered out of the museum and surrounding courtyards.
• The museum, which attracts nearly 9 million tourists a year, was forced to close for the day due to the heist.
• A recent staff strike at the museum, which forced it to close for several hours on 16 June, has raised concerns about the lack of personnel to ensure security.

Statistics:

• The number of thieves involved in the heist: three or four.
• The time it took to commit the heist: seven minutes, according to French interior minister Laurent Nunez.
• The number of pieces of jewellery stolen: nine.
• The number of people involved in the investigation: the Parisian public prosecutor's office and a service that fights illegal trafficking of cultural goods.
• The number of tourists visiting the Louvre museum each year: nearly 9 million.

Sources:

• "France's interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said the group entered the Paris museum yesterday morning by using a large extendable mechanised ladder mounted on a lorry, similar to a cherry picker, and broke windows using small chainsaws." - Source: French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez
• "The ministry later said the precise value of the stolen objects was being calculated, but described them as items of 'inestimable' historical value." - Source: French Ministry
• "The Parisian public prosecutor's office also confirmed it has opened an investigation into suspected 'organised theft and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime'." - Source: Parisian Public Prosecutor's Office
• "A piece of jewellery was found in the wake of the thieves' escape, which reports said was the 19th-century crown belonging to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III." - Source: French culture minister Rachida Dati
• "French Communist Party senator Ian Brossat said that on 16 June, the museum was closed for several hours 'due to a staff strike, as employees were raising the alarm about the lack of personnel to ensure security'." - Source: French Communist Party senator Ian Brossat