Louvre | Pakistan

Count urges Louvre thieves to 'give us back our jewels'

French police stepped up the hunt on Tuesday for thieves who stole priceless royal jewels from the Louvre museum in a spectacular daylight robbery. As the museum remained closed for a second day on Monday, officials said 60 investigators were working on the theory that an organised crime group was behind the raid in which nine pieces of jewellery were taken. A crown covered in more than 1,300 diamonds was dropped in the streets of Paris as the robbers fled. Detectives scoured video camera footage from around the Louvre as well as from main highways out of Paris for signs of the four robbers who escaped on scooters on Sunday morning. “There are a lot of videos, and this is one of the investigators’ lines of work,” said Interior Minister Laurent Nunez. But as disappointed tourists rebooked tickets to the world’s most visited museum, the heist — which lasted just seven minutes —also reignited a row over the lack of security in French museums, after two other institutions were hit last month. Justice Minister Ger...

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that jewellery stolen from the Louvre Museum on Sunday in Paris was “priceless”. The minister told French news outlets France Inter, France Info and Le Monde that “three or four” thieves had focused on two displays in the exhibition venue’s “Gallerie d’Apollon” (“Apollo’s Gallery”), completing their broad daylight robbery in just seven minutes. Earlier in the day, France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati reported a break-in at the Louvre in Paris, as the world-renowned museum said it was closing for the day. “A hold-up took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” she wrote on X, using a French word that can also mean “robbery”. “No injuries reported. I’m on site with museum staff and police,” she added. At least one person had entered the museum, a member of her team told AFP, without adding anything about any possible theft. The Louvre said it was closing for the day “for exceptional reasons”. The museum was not immediately available for comment.