Priceless jewel robbery shuts Louvre
發佈日期: 2025-10-20 01:06
TVB News
A robbery in which priceless jewels were taken has closed the Louvre in Paris.
The raid happened in the morning, french time, and involved a gang of masked intruders armed with small chainsaws who escaped on motorbikes.
David Garrett reports.
The iconic pyramid of the most visited museum on earth.
The Louvre, which welcomes 9 million people a year, shut for the rest of the day, at the centre of a robbery investigation and an unfolding scandal in France.
At nine-thirty AM, a group of three suspects, wearing masks and hoods, used a crane or basket lift to get access to an upstairs window, which they forced open, on the side of the building that overlooks the River Seine.
Construction work had been going on there.
The museum, home to arguably the world's most famous painting - Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa - was already open.
Panicked visitors which quickly ushered away.
Thieves entered the Galerie d'Apollo to "steal priceless jewels" by cutting through glass cases with tiny chainsaws giving them access to France's crown jewels.
They reportedly took around nine pieces
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati, says they were in and out in minutes.
"Smashing cases, taking their loot, and leaving, no violence, very professional," she said.
Asked if security was tight enough, she replied: "Organized crime targets art," Dati told French television from inside the Louvre after the heist, "museums have become targets because France is rich with heritage."
Dati says a damaged artifact, possibly dropped by the robbers, was found near the museum.
They escaped on motorbikes or scooters.
Reports say the item found is the crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon the Third who ruled in the 1800s, the minister did not confirm this.
It is not the first time police have investigated a robbery at the Louvre.
The Mona Lisa was taken in 1911 but was found in Florence a couple of years later.
