Panic, evacuation after theft at Paris' Louvre museum, robbers flee with Napoleonic jewellery | Video
France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati said a theft took place at the Louvre in Paris, which also hosts the famous painting, Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci.
Panic gripped the iconic Louvre museum in Paris after an alleged robbery, which led to panic and prompted evacuation at the museum premises.
France's culture minister Rachida Dati confirmed the incident and said the theft took place at the museum, at the heart of Paris, on Sunday.
“A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” Rachida Dati said in a post on X. The French interior ministry later confirmed that the jewellery was stolen during the robbery at Louvre.
The heist took place in the Galerie d’Apollon, a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV’s court artist, the ministry said.
The thieves reportedly entered the museum, where construction is underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery, French daily Le Parisien reported.
After breaking windows, they took nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress.
Visuals, which surfaced soon after the reported theft, showed visitors queuing to the museum exit, while a second video showed security personnel deployed outside the museum.
The robbers allegedly fled the museum with jewellery, AFP reported quoting a source. The Louvre was closed for the day following the incident.
The Louvre museum said it would close “for exceptional reasons,” offering no further details on the details of the robbery.
The museum, officially known as Musée du Louvre, hosts around 5 lakh pieces of art, included the finest paintings from history. Some of the prized possession includes Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, The Wedding Feast at Cana and The Virgin and Child with St. Anne.
The Louvre museum is located at the heart of Paris and sees thousands of visitors from across the globe every day.
