<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a lightning-fast robbery, a gang of criminals have stolen priceless jewellery from the renowned Louvre Museum in Paris, shocking the art world and leaving French authorities searching for answers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The museum, visited by millions of tourists every year, was cordoned off on Sunday following the daylight heist, with soldiers patrolling its perimeter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told radio station France Inter: "A major robbery took place this morning in the Apollo Gallery. Individuals entered the Louvre museum from outside, using an external freight elevator that was positioned on a truck."</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/louvre-museum-robbery-musee-du-louvre-closed-for-exceptional-reasons/aabe4c60-19e9-41da-930d-9763d1c095b4" target="_blank"><strong><span>Shaky phone vision emerges of high-stakes four-minute Louvre heist</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Apollo Gallery houses the French Crown Jewels, as well as treasures including Louis XIV's hardstone vessel collection.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The theft unfolded just 250 metres from the Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci, in what Culture Minister Rachida Dati described as a professional "four-minute operation." The thieves made their getaway on motorcycles carrying eight items dating back to the Napoleonic era, dropping a ninth on their exit.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday as officials insisted the museum had undergone a major security upgrade in recent years, including new-generation cameras, perimeter detection, and a security control room overhaul. But critics say the measures come far too late.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/louvre-museum-robbery-what-we-know/963154c2-d75c-4f49-83bf-a629327a079a" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The heist was denounced by French President Emmanuel Macron who pledged on social media to bring the criminals to justice.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor's office," he posted on X.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Here is what you need to know about the robbery:</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/suspected-space-junk-crash-lands-on-wa-mine-site/d44e81a0-46ea-4ede-9d7a-cad4ddfd1e27" target="_blank"><strong><span>Mysterious flaming 'space junk' crashes into remote WA</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>What happened?</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Around 9.30am on Sunday (6.30pm AEDT) several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the glass display cases, officials said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Nunez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift via the riverfront facade to reach the hall with the 23-item royal collection.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Their target was the gilded Apollo Gallery, where the Crown Diamonds are displayed, including the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The thieves smashed two display cases and fled on motorbikes, Nunez said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>No one was hurt. Alarms brought Louvre security guards to the room, forcing the intruders to bolt, but the theft was already done.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An attempt to set fire to the truck used to carry out the raid was foiled by a security officer, forcing the burglar to flee, officials said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ringwood-carjackings-victoria-police-foil-two-attempted-incidents/cac30f32-f1c0-4f12-b8f3-aed2d4b40168" target="_blank"><strong><span>Food delivery driver ambushed by machete-wielding carjackers</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>What was stolen?</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Eight objects were taken, according to officials: a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte's second wife; a reliquary brooch; Empress Eugénie's diadem; and her large corsage-bow brooch — a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The thieves "lost or abandoned" an item – the crown of Empress Eugénie – wife of Napoleon III, during the daylight heist, prosecutors said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ornate gold piece, which features 1354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, was damaged.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>How did the thieves complete the robbery?</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Security experts say the gang planned the heist with military style precision.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>British security consultant Will Geddes told Today this morning the robbers had done extremely thorough groundwork. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This was a very, very well planned operation ... this particular group, highly organised, had no doubt done their reconnaissance beforehand ... and came with appropriate equipment to get in and to get out with the substantial haul that they did."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The gang probably timed the robbery with a change in the security detail at the Louvre, he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think there's a very good chance there was probably a change of the security shift from the night team to the day team at this particular time," said Geddes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So they may have been a little bit cold on the ground, i.e. they weren't warmed up, they weren't as vigilant as they might have been." </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/health/australia-flu-vaccination-health/767ffef9-0b03-44e7-9d31-68d29b6c2b62"><strong><span>Doctors sound the alarm as flu rates spike, vaccination rates drop</span></strong></a><strong></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h2><span>What happens next?</span></h2></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday for the forensic investigation to begin as police sealed gates, cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the River Seine in Paris.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An investigation for "aggravated theft by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy to commit a felony," has been opened by Paris police under the authority of Paris public prosecutor's office.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Video from the scene showed French police examining an abandoned furniture elevator positioned next to a corner of the Louvre, with its ladder leading up to a broken window off a balcony.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to Le Parisien's reporting, the police have found "two angle grinders, a blowtorch, gasoline, gloves, a walkie-talkie, a blanket and a crown" at the scene of the robbery. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A yellow vest used by the perpetrators to disguise themselves as workmen was found a bit further away, lost during their escape, the newspaper said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>What the gang behind the robbery intend to do with the stolen jewellery pieces is uncertain.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Geddes says selling the items without alerting authorities would be extremely risky, and they could have been "stolen to order".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There are certain individuals, certainly very wealthy individuals, particularly within organised crime, who may want to acquire these articles."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/Z8tJCf"><strong><span>Sign up here</span></strong></a><strong><span> to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.</span></strong></div></div>