Thieves steal 'priceless' jewels from Louvre in morning raid

Thieves have stolen "priceless" jewellery from the Louvre museum in Paris during a seven-minute raid that forced the closure of the world's most visited cultural landmark.

"These are jewels that have genuine heritage value and are, in fact, priceless," French interior minister Laurent Nunez said after the robbery on Sunday morning.

The Louvre, which draws up to 30,000 visitors daily, announced on social media that it was closing for "exceptional reasons" following the break-in. Culture minister Rachida Dati confirmed a robbery had taken place and said she was on site with museum and police teams.

The robbers struck between 9.30 and 9.40am, using a basket lift mounted on a lorry to reach the building from the River Seine side, where construction work is taking place. After breaking a window with disc cutters, two hooded intruders entered the Galerie d'Apollon, home to a selection of the French Crown Jewels.

The thieves made off with nine pieces from the Napoleon and Empress collection, including a necklace, brooch and tiara, before escaping on motorbikes. A third robber remained outside during the operation. The criminals were equipped with small chainsaws and had clearly planned the raid carefully, officials said.

"They had done scouting," Nunez told France Inter radio, adding that no injuries were reported during the incident.

Social media users posted footage of visitors leaving the museum "in total panic", with some describing chaotic scenes of people banging on glass doors trying to escape while police struggled to enter the locked building.

In a reaction on social media, European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef said, "Saddened to hear of the theft at the Louvre this morning. Such acts strike at the heart of our shared cultural heritage. I trust French authorities will swiftly recover the stolen treasures."

This marks the latest in a series of high-profile thefts from the famous museum. In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen by a former worker who hid inside overnight and walked out with Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece under his coat. The painting was recovered two years later in Florence. In 1983, two Renaissance-era pieces of armour were stolen and were only found nearly four decades later.

The Louvre houses 33,000 works of art, including the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, alongside its star attraction, the Mona Lisa.