On the morning of 19 October local time, an armed robbery took place in the Louvre in Paris. French Culture Minister Dati and Interior Minister Nunes confirmed that this was a ¡°professional¡± and extremely rapid operation. Dati said the operation took only ¡°4 minutes¡±.

"It's like Robin (the famous French bandit) plot," said Weil, mayor of central Paris.

Criminals used the construction lift pictured to enter the Louvre

Brilliant M.O.

Find the loophole and go straight to the "most luxurious corridor"

In an interview with Red Star News, Louvre speaker Al-Blanc noted that the target of the bandits was the Apollo corridor, the Apollo corridor is the most luxurious corridor in the Louvre, and the history of the construction of the corridor can be traced back to the Bohemian dynasty's first King Henry IV. The robber must have been running to the most prestigious exhibition.

"Speaking of the route they chose, I have to say that the gangsters were very 'brain' and found loopholes in the Louvre." Alan told Red Star News that the Louvre is very large and "it is difficult to find a time when there is no construction at all," so staff and tourists "will never notice" these construction equipment and cargo elevators. In addition, the Louvre receives more than 30,000 tourists every day, which requires both safety and efficiency. This "gave them (thieves) an opportunity to take advantage of it."

Louvre sources pointed out that the "completely masked" gang did not enter through the main entrance, but used the construction area of the museum "on the bank of the Seine".

The key detail is that they used a "construction elevator." Interior Minister Nunez also confirmed that the bandits "entered from the outside on an elevator."

After entering the target floor, the bandits ¡°cut off the glass of the Apollo corridor with the cut discs¡± (i.e. a corner mill) and headed straight to the target exhibition cabinet.

The picture shows the "Apollo Corridor" of the Louvre

French Interior Minister Nunes later admitted that ¡°there are huge gaps in the museum.¡±

"Unvaluable"

A crown was recovered, but heavily damaged

Regarding the loss, Culture Minister Dati said it was ¡°unestimatable.¡±

Dati said that the bandits dropped a piece of jewelry while fleeing, but the jewelry was seriously damaged.

Sources revealed that the recovered piece of jewellery is "Empress Eugenie's crown" and is in a "damaged" condition. A Lan said that this is a gold crown carved with an eagle, but it "has been seriously damaged".

The Crown of Queen Eugenie.

This news made A Lan feel great "helpless and heavy". He lamented: "The historical heritage in these windows that you can see every day turned out to be so fragile that it is even possible that they will only remain in pictures, videos or our memories in the future."

He speculated that if the crown was stolen,"two other treasures in the same display cabinet would probably also be stolen": including a pearl crown and a brooch made of more than 4,000 diamonds.

Lan predicted pessimistically that the collection "should be torn down immediately", especially the brooch, because the robbers would try to sell the stolen goods quickly.

The question:

Why was the alarm not heard?

At present, the Louvre has been closed all day, and the police have blocked the Francois Mitterrand Quay along the museum.

At the scene, tourists can only take photos of themselves with the pyramids in the distance.A Dutch tourist Marianne said that she had planned to watch Mona Lisa.

French politics reacted fiercely.Français National League Chairman Jardine Bardilla rebuked: ¡°This is an intolerable humiliation for our country.¡±Senator Ian Broussa questioned that as early as June there were employees striking because of a shortage of security personnel, ¡°Why was the alarm not heard?¡±

At present, the Paris Prosecutor's Office has announced that it will launch an investigation on charges of "organized gang robbery" and "gang crime". Interior Minister Nunez said he hoped to use "video" to solve the case as soon as possible and tried to "cross-check with similar cases and try to tighten the investigation network."

According to Red Star News, two men entered the room after ¡°breaking the glass¡± and the third man was looking outside. Thieves ¡°robbed nine items from the collection of Napoleon and his queen¡¯s jewelry¡±, including necklaces, nails, and head crowns. An internal source in the Louvre said the famous ¡°Royal King¡¯s Diamond¡± weighing 140 doca was not stolen.

Red Star News reporter Deng Shuyi

Edited by Zhang Li

Audit by Lilly.