“Priceless” royal jewels stolen from the Louvre in daring heist

French authorities are searching for a group of thieves who carried out a high-profile burglary at the Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing several royal jewels of “inestimable heritage value,” according to the Ministry of Culture.

The theft occurred on Sunday inside the museum’s Galerie d’Apollon, which houses France’s royal gem collection and the Crown Diamonds.

According to a ministry statement, two high-security display cases were targeted and eight historic pieces were stolen, including a diamond diadem belonging to Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, emerald jewelry from Empress Marie-Louise, and a brooch of Empress Eugénie.

The museum’s alarm system was triggered when the thieves broke through an exterior window and smashed the display cases. The Ministry of Culture said the burglars acted “particularly quickly and violently.” No injuries were reported.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that “three or four” suspects were involved and fled on high-powered scooters. “Clearly, this is a team that carried out reconnaissance, was very experienced, and acted very, very quickly,” he said, adding that all central police brigades in Paris have been mobilized.

Surveillance footage reviewed by BFMTV shows a masked individual in a yellow vest sawing through a window while visitors were still inside the gallery. A source told BFMTV that Empress Eugénie’s crown, one of the stolen items, was later recovered in a damaged state but not destroyed.

Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the investigation is being handled by the anti-banditry brigade under the authority of the Paris prosecutor’s office.

President Emmanuel Macron condemned the burglary as “an attack on a heritage we cherish because it is our history.” He said all efforts were underway “to recover the works and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Culture Minister Rachida Dati visited the museum on Sunday, describing the theft as “an attack on our history and our heritage.” Nuñez said, “Everything is being done to apprehend the perpetrators as quickly as possible. The mobilization of investigators will be total.”

The Ministry of Culture said a criminal investigation has been opened for organized theft and conspiracy.

The Louvre has faced thefts in the past, most famously in 1911 when Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was stolen by an Italian employee of the museum. The painting was recovered two years later in Florence.