French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday reacted to the robbery in Paris’ Louvre museum, calling it an attack on the country’s heritage.
Thieves on Sunday broke into the Louvre, one of the world’s most famous museums. They used a crane to smash an upstairs window, then stole priceless objects from an area housing the French crown jewels before escaping on motorbikes. The theft, which several newspapers called “heist of the century,” grabbed headlines globally.
“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,” Macron posted on social media platform X in French.
“The Louvre New Renaissance project, which we launched in January, provides for strengthened security. It will be the guarantor of the preservation and protection of what constitutes our memory and our culture,” he added.
The break-in raised awkward questions about security at the museum, which is home to artworks such as the Mona Lisa and which welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024. The museum remained closed on Monday.
What was stolen from the Louvre?
The stolen jewellery from the Louvre museum included a tiara from the jewellery set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, from the early 19th century, as well as an earring, part of a pair, from the sapphire jewellery set of the same queens.
The crown of Empress Eugenie was found outside the museum. The thieves apparently dropped the piece, made of gold, emerald and diamonds, as they made their getaway.
The robbery took between six to seven minutes and was carried out by four people who were unarmed but who threatened the guards with angle grinders, the Paris prosecutor has said.
French justice minister Gerard Darmanin said the robbers, who are still on the run, would eventually be found.
This heist “is an unbearable humiliation for our country. How far will the disintegration of the state go?”, Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally party, said on X.
Francois-Xavier Bellamy, of the conservative Republicans party, called it “a symptom of a country that cannot protect its heritage”.
