Four masked thieves stole jewels worth £76 million from the Louvre's Apollo Gallery in a brazen seven-minute heist on Sunday morning. Director Laurence des Cars has offered to resign, telling a French Senate committee the raid was a "terrible failure" at the world's most visited museum.
The robbery unfolded between 9:20am and 9:27am as criminals used a mechanical delivery basket and ladder to scale the museum's exterior. They climbed through a first-floor window, smashed glass containers with power tools, and escaped with treasures that once belonged to French royalty and colonial leaders.
Security Failures
The heist succeeded due to a critical security malfunction - the camera monitoring the break-in area was pointing in completely the wrong direction. Des Cars admitted: "We failed. We did not detect the thieves' arrival early enough."
Culture minister Rachida Dati has launched an administrative inquiry alongside the police investigation. However, she insisted the museum's security apparatus "worked" despite the successful theft.
Investigation Progress
Only an emerald-set imperial crown belonging to Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, has been recovered after thieves dropped it while fleeing. The crown, adorned with more than 1,000 diamonds, was found damaged outside the museum.
Art recovery expert Chris Marinello warned authorities face a 48-hour window to locate the stolen items. "If these thieves are not caught, those pieces are probably long gone," he told the BBC on Sunday afternoon.
Police arrived within minutes of the alarm being triggered, according to interior minister Laurent Nunez. A team of 60 investigators is working on the theory that an organised crime group orchestrated the theft, with CCTV footage under examination.
According to the Daily Mail, the stolen jewels were uninsured due to massive premium costs. The thieves reportedly used a flatbed truck that made an illegal U-turn on the three-lane Seine-side street to position for the escape.
Sources used: "Mirror", "Daily Mail", "Express" Note: This article has been created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
