The moment a Louvre thief flees in broad daylight with precious jewels
Watch as thieves steal precious jewels from the Louvre and escape in broad daylight.
A new video has been released showing thieves fleeing the Louvre Museum in Paris after stealing $100 million worth of jewelry.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France Inter radio on October 19 that the robbers broke a window and stole eight pieces of jewelry before fleeing on a motorbike.
The pieces, housed in the Galerie d’Apollon on the first floor of the museum, which houses hard stone gemstones, diamonds and crowns acquired by the French royal family, are valued at $102 million, Paris prosecutor Laure Becuaux said on RTL radio on October 21.
Following the robbery, the museum was closed all day on Sunday, October 19th, and all day on Monday, October 20th. It closed as usual on Tuesday, October 21st, and reopened on October 22nd.
Laurence de Cal, director and director of the Louvre, testified about the robbery on October 22 before the French Senate’s Committee on Culture, Education and Sport. Mr des Cars said he had offered to resign following the incident, but was rejected by Culture Minister Rashida Dati.
“We did not detect the arrival of the thieves early enough,” De Cars said at the hearing.
Video shows Louvre museum robbers after robbery
A video that began circulating on October 23 shows two people climbing down a telescoping ladder on the side of the Louvre.
His face cannot be identified, and he appears to be wearing all black. One of them is wearing a reflective jacket similar to those worn by construction workers.
Contacted about the video on Thursday, Oct. 23, the Paris public prosecutor’s office told USA TODAY it had no new updates to share regarding the investigation.
Watch the video at the top of this story.
How did the robbers get into the Louvre?
According to French authorities, the robbery occurred at around 9:30 a.m. local time on October 19. The four suspects were driving a truck carrying an electric telescoping ladder and stopped on a road near the Seine River south of the Louvre Museum.
Officials said two suspects extended a ladder and climbed onto the museum’s second-floor balcony, while the other two remained in the truck. They used power tools to break through a window leading to the Apollo Museum.
Officials said they broke glass display cases and stole items as an alarm sounded and museum staff evacuated tourists.
Officials said the two suspects climbed down the ladder and all four fled on two motorcycles.
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. Contact her at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
Contributed by: Thao Nguyen, Janet Loehrke, George Petras, USA TODAY
