Masked thieves steal ‘priceless’ jewels from the Louvre museum : NPR

A basket lift used by thieves is seen at the Louvre museum on Sunday in Paris.

Alexander Turnbull/AP

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Alexander Turnbull/AP

PARIS — A brazen robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris Sunday morning has left investigators searching for several men who made off with what officials describe as “priceless” jewels.

A spokesperson for the museum told NPR the suspects entered shortly after the museum opened, breaking in through a window that led to the Apollo Gallery, which houses some of the museum’s most valuable treasures. Armed with small chainsaws and box cutters, they smashed display cases before fleeing on Yamaha TMax scooters toward a nearby highway.

Authorities say the exact list of stolen items is still being drawn up, but the pieces are believed to come from the museum’s Napoleonic collection.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati told the French TV channel TF1 that one of the stolen jewels was later found near the museum, apparently abandoned as the thieves fled.

The Louvre spokesperson described the items as being of “inestimable cultural and historical value.”

France’s Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, called the theft “a major, highly organized operation” that lasted just seven minutes. “There’s a judicial investigation underway,” Nuñez told France Inter radio, adding the missing items were “of true heritage value – truly priceless.”

Nuñez said the robbers used a lift platform mounted on a truck to reach a window before breaking in. He said there were three to four suspects in total, describing them as “a very experienced team that acted extremely quickly,” and adding that all central police units in Paris have been mobilized to track them down.

The museum was quickly evacuated and will remain closed Sunday to preserve evidence for investigators.

The Apollo Gallery, one of the Louvre’s most iconic spaces, houses many of France’s royal jewels and reopened in 2020 following major renovations.