A day after the grand robbery at the Louvre, French police are on the trail of four criminals who stole eight "French crown jewels". The act also raises questions about the security of museums, AFP reported, BTA reported.
Bearing the hallmarks of organized crime, this audacious robbery in broad daylight at the largest museum in the world, which welcomes nearly 9 million visitors a year and houses 35,000 works of art in an area of 73,000 square meters, has caused an international outcry.
The act has also sparked political controversy and renewed debate about the security of French museums, which are "very vulnerable", according to the minister Interior Minister Laurent Nunes.
"We failed", French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said on public radio "France Inter", as the criminals managed to "place a freight elevator in a public place, climb into it for a few minutes to steal priceless jewels and create a deplorable image of France".
Shortly after the museum opened on Sunday, at around 9:30 a.m., after cutting the glass of a window with an angle grinder, two thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery, commissioned by Louis XIV to magnify his glory as the Sun King. The hall houses the "royal collection of precious stones and diamonds of the crown", which numbers around 800 exhibits.
According to a police source, the perpetrators, wearing masks, cut open two display cases - a scene partly filmed on a mobile phone, probably by a visitor, and broadcast by news channels - and stole nine objects, all from the 19th century.
One of the thieves seen in the footage was wearing a high-visibility vest.
Investigators, who also have security camera footage, seized such a vest, found by a "citizen", according to Paris prosecutor Laure Becuo.
The crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III (emperor from 1852 to 1870), was left behind by the criminals during their escape. The Ministry of Culture said its condition was being checked.
However, according to authorities, eight objects of "incalculable cultural value" were stolen.
Among them are the tiara of Eugenie with nearly 2,000 diamonds and the sapphire parure necklace of the last French queen, Marie-Amélie (wife of Louis-Philippe I, King of France from 1830 to 1848), and Hortense de Beauharnais (mother of Napoleon III). According to the Louvre website, the jewel has eight sapphires and 631 diamonds.
The operation lasted seven minutes. According to Laurent Nunes, it was the work of "experienced" thieves, who may be "foreigners" and "probably" known for similar acts.
According to the Ministry of Culture, thanks to the intervention of museum employees, the criminals were driven away, leaving their equipment behind.
The stolen objects are difficult, if not impossible, to resell in their current condition. Therefore, according to prosecutor Lor Becuo, there are two hypotheses: the perpetrators may have acted "for the benefit of a guarantor" or they may have wanted to obtain "precious stones to carry out money laundering operations".
The robbery - the first at the Louvre since 1998, when a painting by French artist Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot was stolen and never recovered - has renewed the debate about the security of museums. Less well protected than banks and holding treasures of gold and silver, they are targets of criminal groups.
"How far will the collapse of the state go?", said Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right "National Assembly", indignantly, denouncing the "unbearable humiliation" for France.
According to the Ministry of Culture, the alarms installed on the exterior window of the gallery, as well as the two high-security display cases, were activated. They "were in action" and the security "received a signal," said Laure Becuo. "The question remains whether the security guards heard these alarms and whether they actually went off in the room where the robbery took place," the prosecutor added.
"We will find the works and the perpetrators will be brought to justice," French President Emmanuel Macron promised on Sunday, calling the Louvre robbery an "attack on French cultural heritage.".
60 investigators have been mobilized in connection with the case.
The Louvre remains closed today.