– We'll get it back [skradzione] work and the perpetrators will be brought to justice, Macron said. – All actions are being taken to make this happen, he added. The head of state called the theft “an attack on a heritage that we respect as part of our history“.
According to the French Ministry of Culture, eight priceless jewels were stolen from the Galerie d'Apollon on Sunday morning. Among them is the tiara of Empress Eugenie (wife of Napoleon III) decorated with 2,000. diamonds and two necklaces. The perpetrators lost or abandoned Empress Eugenie's crown during their escape.
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The theft was said to have lasted only a few minutes
Media reports indicate that the thieves used a lift on a truck, which allowed them to enter the Louvre building through a balcony window. They used cutters to remove the jewels from the display case. “Le Parisien” reported that two perpetrators, wearing reflective vests, pretended to be workers. The perpetrators placed warning cones near the lift. One of the passersby alerted the police. The burglars drove away on scooters. The entire operation took them – according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs – seven minutes.
About the theft, which took place around 9.30, was first announced by the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati. Her ministry in a statement described the break-in as “particularly quick and brutal,” AFP reported.
According to the website of the daily “Le Parisien” The thieves' target was a collection of 23 itemsincluding gems dating from before the French Revolution of 1789, gems from the times of the First Empire, i.e. related to Napoleon I, the Second Empire, i.e. the rule of Napoleon III, as well as from the years between these historical periods.
