PARIS — The premier art museum in the world remained closed on Monday as investigators continue to search for brazen thieves who broke into the Louvre and stole priceless, historic jewels.
The loss from the crime is being likened to the devastating fire at Notre Dame.
France’s justice minister Gérald Darmanin said, according to The New York Times, “This morning, the French people, for the most part, feel as though they have been robbed. In the same way that when Notre-Dame burned, it was our church that was burning — even if you weren’t Catholic — such an incredible jewelry robbery at the Louvre looks bad."
“We cannot completely secure all locations,” he said. “But what is certain is that we have failed.”
A report by the Court of Accounts said there was a lack of basic security equipment, such as closed-circuit television cameras in many areas, The Times in London said.
Culture minister Rachida Dati said “the protection and security of the national heritage have been undervalued” but said that new cameras would be installed.
An alarm did go off but the jewels had already been removed from their cases by the time security got to the room, The Associated Press reported.
The Times reported that the museum open briefly but closed within minutes when security officers walked out to strike in protest for the lack of staffing and security systems.
President Emmanuel Macron pledged that the thieves would be captured.
Within minutes, the four thieves took eight items: a royal sapphire necklace, a royal emerald necklace and matching earrings and Empress Eugénie’s diadem or jeweled headband or tiara. She was the wife of Napoleon III, that were housed in the Apollo Gallery, the Times and CNN reported.
One item, the crown of the empress, was dropped or left behind and was damaged. It is made of gold and has 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.
The items taken have “sentimental value and is priceless,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, according to CNN.
As for the fate of the jewelry, Chris Marinello, the chief executive of Art Recovery International surmised, that the thieves “are not going to keep them intact, they are going to break them up, melt down the valuable metal, recut the valuable stones and hide evidence of their crimes,” the BBC reported.
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