The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed for a second day on Monday as police continued their hunt for the gang who stole priceless pieces of royal jewellery in a daring raid. France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said he would tighten security outside cultural institutions as a result.
Officials said a team of 60 investigators was working on the theory that the theft soon after the museum opened was planned and executed by an organised crime group.
The seven-minute heist on Sunday morning reignited a row over a lack of security in France's museums.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin admitted on Monday to security flaws in protecting the Louvre which houses the Mona Lisa as well as an array of esteemed art treasures.
"What is certain is that we have failed, since 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," he told French broadcaster France Inter radio.
The thieves arrived between 9.30 and 9.40am and used a truck with an extendable ladder.
They cut through a window to gain access to the Apollo Gallery and once inside they targeted cases displaying nine 19th-century items of jewellery from the 19th century.
Priceless items
The culture ministry confirmed eight "priceless" items of jewellery were stolen on Sunday. A ninth – the crown of the Empress Eugenie – was dropped and damaged as they made their escape.
Culture ministry chiefs said an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon gave his second wife Empress Marie-Louise was also taken.
Also carried off was a diadem that once belonged to the Empress Eugenie. The piece is dotted with nearly 2,000 diamonds.
A necklace boasting eight sapphires and 631 diamonds that once belonged to Marie-Amelie, the last queen of France, was also taken.
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Interior Minister Laurent Nunez acknowledged on Sunday that securing museums throughout France was a "major weak spot". The raid is thought to have been carried out by an experienced team, possibly foreigners, Nunez said.
The booty would be impossible to sell on in its current state, said Alexandre Giquello, president of the leading auctioneer house Drouot on Monday.
Tourists with tickets for Monday gathered outside the museum to reschedule their visits after the museum website issued a statement on Monday morning to say it would remain closed.
"We're just kind of disappointed," said Jesslyn Ehlers who had been due to tour the galleries at the museum with her husband.
"We've been planning this for a very long time," added the 38-year-old American.
Carol Fuchs, another tourist from the US, told the French news agency AFP: "The audacity, coming through a window.
"Will they ever be found? I doubt it. I think it's long gone," she said.
'National humiliation'
Sunday's raid was the first theft from the Louvre since 1998, when a painting by Camille Corot was stolen. It has never been recovered.
Last month, criminals broke into Paris's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples worth €700,000.
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On 4 September, two Chinese trays and a vase valued at just over €9 million were stolen from the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in the central city of Limoges.
"How far will the disintegration of the state go?" said far-right National Rally party leader Jordan Bardella on social media.
"The theft is an unbearable humiliation for our country," he added.
President Emmanuel Macron said on social media that "everything" was being done to catch the perpetrators and recover the stolen items.
(With newswires)
