In an action that lasted just seven minutes, criminals took nine pieces from the collections of Napoleon and French kings; museum has been evacuated and will be closed all day
A group of thieves stole jewelry from the Museum’s Apolo gallery this Sunday morning (19), in just seven minutes, which have “an incalculable heritage and historical value”, informed the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Núñez. “I have great confidence that we will very quickly find the perpetrators and, above all, the stolen goods”, declared Núñez in an interview with the broadcaster “France Inter”, in which he highlighted that the first elements indicate that the thieves had carried out prior reconnaissance.
The minister did not want to detail what jewels were stolen, other than that they were in the Apolo gallery, but “Le Parisien” indicated that there were nine pieces from Napoleon’s jewelry collection and the collection of the French kings, including a necklace, a tiara and a brooch.
What he explained is that there were three or four people who entered the museum using a freight elevator that allowed them to go up to the first floor. There, they broke into a window and went to the showcases where the jewelry was located and, with the stolen items, they fled on a motorcycle.
The head of the Interior insisted that the thieves “acted very, very quickly”, but also that the security forces arrived “immediately”, that they are mobilized and that, in this type of incident, their success rate is greater than 50%.
Núñez went this morning, shortly after the incident, which occurred between 9:30 am and 10 am (local time), to the Louvre Museum, where the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, also went.
The Louvre has been completely evacuated and will be closed throughout the day, mainly “to preserve the evidence” of the robbery that investigators will work with, which also has video surveillance images.
The minister acknowledged that “there is a weakness” in the security of French museums and, therefore, a program was launched to improve the situation, which also affects the Louvre. At the same time, he wanted to make it clear that “you cannot prevent everything” and “you cannot expect zero risk to exist”. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will lead the investigation, opened an investigation into gang robbery and criminal association.
The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, with 8.7 million people visiting last year.
*With information from EFE
Published by Nícolas Robert
