KCS Presse / MEGA
While it sounds like a plot straight from a movie, the jewelry heist at the famous Louvre Museum in Paris over the weekend was anything but fiction.
Paris police were left scrambling for answers after masked burglars brazenly broke into the Louvre on Sunday, October 19. The robbery unfolded in broad daylight, just minutes after the museum opened its doors to the public.
According to authorities, per the BBC, four masked thieves pulled up to the River Seine side of the museum with a vehicle-mounted lift, which they used to reach a balcony leading into the Galerie d’Apollon, home to France’s crown jewels. Once inside, they used power tools to cut through reinforced glass cases, grabbing treasures once worn by French royalty.
Incredibly, the entire operation took less than seven minutes, with the thieves escaping on two scooters before police could respond.
“We are all disappointed and angry,” said French senator Natalie Goulet, per the BBC, calling the robbery “difficult to understand” given the museum’s heavy security.
Officials are now investigating how the group managed to breach the gallery so easily, with early reports suggesting a possible alarm system failure.
KCS Presse / MEGA
Among the eight stolen items were a tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, as well as an emerald necklace and earrings once owned by Empress Marie-Louise. The thieves also took sapphire pieces linked to Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, along with a 19th-century “reliquary brooch.”
The Louvre remained closed Monday as investigators combed through security footage and eyewitness accounts, trying to piece together how one of the world’s most famous museums could fall victim to a real-life Hollywood-style heist.