Thieves steal crown jewels in 4 minutes from Louvre Museum

Summary

PARIS (AP) — In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world’s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre ’s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said. The daylight heist about 30 minutes after opening, with visitors already inside, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory and comes as staff complained that crowding and thin staffing are straining security.The theft unfolded just 250 meters (270 yards) from the Mona Lisa, in what Culture Minister Rachida Dati described as a professional “four-minute operation.” One object was later found outside the museum, Dati said. French media identified it as the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds. It was reportedly recovered broken. Images from the scene showed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine. No one was hurt. Also visible was a lift braced to the Seine-facing facade near a construction zone, since removed — the thieves’ entry point and, observers said, a striking vulnerability for a palace-museum. A museum already under strainAround 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the vitrines, officials said. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift. Their target was the gilded Apollon Gallery — where the royal collection and the Crown Diamonds are displayed, including the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said thieves broke into two display cases and fled on scooters. Among nine pieces reportedly taken were a parure with matching necklace and earrings, a brooch and two crowns — an imperial suite prized for 19th-century craftsmanship and provenance, French media reported. “It’s a major robbery,” Nuñez said, noting that security mea...