Masked thieves steal ‘priceless’ jewelry from Louvre museum: NPR

PARIS — A brazen theft at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday morning has investigators searching for four men who took what authorities call “priceless” jewelry.

Paris prosecutors told NPR that two of the suspects broke into the museum’s Apollo Gallery, which houses some of the museum’s most valuable treasures, through a second-floor window shortly after the museum opened. Armed with small chainsaws and cutters, the men smashed windows before fleeing on Yamaha TMax scooters towards a nearby highway.

Two stolen jewels, including the crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, were later found near the museum, apparently abandoned while the suspects fled. The crown encrusted with gold and diamonds was damaged, the prosecution said.

A spokesperson for the Louvre described the objects as having “invaluable cultural and historical value”.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called the theft a “major and highly organized operation” that lasted only seven minutes. “A judicial investigation is underway,” Nuñez told France Inter radio, adding that the missing objects had “a real heritage value, truly inestimable.”

Nuñez said the thieves used a forklift mounted on a truck to reach the window and then tried to set it on fire as they fled. He described the suspects as “a very experienced team who acted extremely quickly”, adding that all central police units in Paris were mobilized to find them.

The museum was quickly evacuated and will remain closed on Sunday to preserve evidence for investigators.

The Galerie d’Apollon, one of the Louvre’s most iconic spaces, is home to many of France’s royal jewels and reopened in 2020 after extensive renovations.

Sunday’s heist is the latest in a series of recent thefts targeting French museums.

In September, thieves stole samples of raw gold from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, worth around $700,000.

Also in September, thieves stole $11 million worth of porcelain works, described as national treasures, from the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in the French city of Limoges.