The break-in occurred on Sunday, when thieves entered the museum by using a freight elevator to reach the first floor. There, they cut open display cases and stole eight jewels, including a diamond-encrusted brooch belonging to Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugénie, as well as necklaces and diadems.
The perpetrators also tried to take the empress's crown, but dropped it while escaping. Police are investigating to recover the stolen items.
Government: The state acts as its own insurer
The French Ministry of Culture said the country would not receive financial compensation for the lost works, which have “invaluable heritage and historical value.”
“The state acts as its own insurer when the works of national museums are in their usual storage places.” – said the ministry's spokesman in a statement quoted by “Le Parisien”. He added that this decision results from “high insurance costs when the number of claims is low.”
Typically, the state is responsible for works from a national collection, while museums only purchase insurance when works are moved or loaned. The Ministry emphasized that in such cases the insurance value is “very often higher than the purchase value of the work.”
Private galleries – such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation or the Pinault Collection – normally use commercial insurance policies.
