PARIS (AP) — The Louvre remained closed the next day, Monday. historic jewels stolen Items stolen from the world’s most visited museum in a daring daytime robbery that prompted authorities to review security measures at cultural institutions across France.
Museum staff asked dozens of visitors who had lined up outside the entrance to the glass pyramid to leave. In a message posted on social media, the Louvre said it would offer refunds to visitors who had booked tickets. No further details were provided.
There was a thief on Sunday. Basket lifts the Louvre facadeOfficials said they broke open windows, smashed display cases and made off with valuable Napoleonic-era jewelry. The theft occurred about 30 minutes after the museum opened, with visitors already inside, making it one of the most high-profile museum thefts in memory.
It was deployed just 250 meters (270 yards) away. mona lisaCulture Minister Rashida Dati described it as a professional operation that lasted just a few minutes.
French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin acknowledged the security lapses on Monday.
“There are questions, for example, about the fact that the windows were not closed and the fact that the basket lift was on a public road,” he told France Inter radio. “Having been (previously) Home Secretary, I know we can’t guarantee every seat is guaranteed, but one thing is certain: we have failed.”
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has ordered governors across France to immediately reassess security measures protecting museums and other cultural institutions and strengthen them if necessary.
Culture Minister Rashida Dati said investigators were working to examine evidence found at the scene.
“The bike was indeed found and it had a license plate,” Dati told news station CNews. “I would also like to pay tribute to the security personnel who stopped the basket lift from being set on fire. One of the criminals attempted to set the basket lift on fire, but they forced him to flee. This enabled us to recover evidence at the scene.”
Officials said the robbery lasted less than eight minutes, including less than four minutes inside the Louvre. “They went straight to the store window and knew exactly what they wanted. They were very efficient,” Dati said.
Dati said the 10-year plan for a “New Renaissance at the Louvre” Released earlier this year Contains security improvements.
“When the Louvre was designed, it was not intended to accommodate 10 million visitors,” she said.
The 700 million euro ($760 million) plan aims to modernize infrastructure, reduce congestion and give the Mona Lisa its own gallery by 2031.
Sunday’s theft focused on the gilded Apollo Gallery, where the Crown Diamond is on display. The alarm brought Louvre staff into the room and the intruders fled, but the robbery was already over.
On Sunday morning, a Louvre employee filmed a person wearing a yellow jacket and standing near a glass wall in the Apollo Gallery, according to a video seen and verified by BFM TV. It is unclear whether that person is one of the suspects.
Officials said eight items were seized. Sapphire crown, necklace and matching earrings associated with 19th century French Queen Marie Amélie and Hortense. A matching emerald necklace and earrings from Empress Marie Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife. Reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s crown and large corsage ribbon brooch were a treasured imperial ensemble of the 19th century.
The emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later discovered outside a museum, French authorities said.
