The Louvre museum will remain closed on Monday after jewellery of incalculable value was stolen by thieves in a stunning heist on Sunday morning.
Eight pieces of jewellery were stolen from the world’s most visited gallery at around 9am in a heist which took just seven minutes.
The gang entered the gallery through an extendable ladder attached to a van and used small chainsaws to grab the jewels before escaping on scooters.
France’s justice minister said the stunning raid was a “terrible image” for the country and its security services.
Gérald Darmanin told France Inter radio he was confident the thieves would be arrested.
However, there are fears the items, which include a necklace Napoleon Bonaparte gave to his wife Josephine, could be broken up and smuggled out of France if the gang is not caught soon.
The minister said: “People were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of Paris, get people up it in several minutes to grab priceless jewels and give France a terrible image.”
Right-wing politician Jordan Bardella echoed the sentiment, saying in a post on X: “The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture. This heist, which allowed thieves to steal the Crown Jewels of France, is an intolerable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the State go?”
President Emmanuel Macron said: “The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history.
“We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor's office.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez also admitted there was a “great vulnerability” in security at French museums.
He added the robbery was clearly the work of “an experienced team who had clearly scouted the location”.
French media has reported that a third of rooms in the wing where the heist occurred have no CCTV cameras.
The thieves dropped a priceless crown which once belonged to the Empress Eugénie on their way out of the Louve, which is reported to have smashed into pieces.
Earrings, a tiara and a sapphire necklace were among the stolen goods, all worth millions.
The museum's website says it remains closed to the public and that visitors with tickets would receive an automatic refund.
