The robbery at the Louvre museum in Paris, France, occurred on the morning of 19th, and the museum was then declared temporarily closed for a day.
Preliminary clues from the French police investigation and information from the Louvre interior revealed that in the early morning, several face-to-face suspects broke into the Paris Louvre from the construction area on the side of the Seine, using lifts into the Apollo gallery exhibition area, broke glass and stole several collections.
The French media cited the news.There were four suspects, two of whom were wearing workers' clothes and yellow reflective vests, entering the Louvre from the outside by using lifting baskets, and the other two drove motorcycles to meet them.
The suspects stole nine jewelry items, including necklaces, needles, crowns, etc. The "Royal King's Diamond" weighing more than 140 carats has not been stolen. According to French media, two jewelry have been recovered, including Queen Eugenie's crown was lost during the suspects' escape and damaged when found.
The Crown of Queen Eugenie (Map)
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed earlier that the suspect stole extremely valuable jewelry and quickly escaped after the crime.The trial lasted about 7 minutes.Nunez said a major armed robbery in the Louvre exposed the French museum system to “great security vulnerabilities.”
He also said it was clearly a “group of advanced, experienced, and fast-acting gangs” and announced that all of the Paris Police Department’s core departments would be fully engaged in action.
French police arrived on the scene after the Louvre robbery.
French Minister of Culture Dati also confirmed to the media on the 19th that the whole crime process of thieves was "very fast" and only lasted almost 4 minutes. Dati said, "These people are professionals."
The Paris prosecutor's office announced that the case had been investigated on charges of "organized gang theft" and "association for the commission of a crime."The case was investigated by the Paris Judicial Police Department's heavy case team and assisted by the Central Anti-Counterfeiting Office.
The Elysee Palace in the French Presidential Palace said that President Macron has been listening in real time to Interior Minister Nunez and Culture Minister Dati on the progress of the armed robbery in the Louvre since the morning of the 19th and the investigation of the case. (General reporter Zhu Xuesong)