Prosecutor reveals value of stolen Louvre items
The value of the eight items stolen from the Louvre in a robbery on October 19th has been tallied.
On the morning of October 19th, a gang of masked thieves robbed the iconic French museum in a heist that took them only seven minutes. As a result, the museum was closed for two days.
In the daylight robbery, the thieves raided the collection once owned by Napoleon Bonaparte’s family and the Empress Marie Louise. These items included A necklace, a brooch, and a tiara.
Now, a prosecutor has revealed that the jewellery stolen from the tourist attraction is valued at €88 million.
The French public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, said, as per the BBC, that she hoped announcing the estimated worth of the jewellery would make the robbers think twice about breaking the jewellery into parts. She stressed that melting down the jewellery is a “very bad idea”.
The robbers lost one item on their way out. Investigators found a damaged crown that used to belong to Empress Eugenie along the escape route.
The four thieves used a truck with a mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo), alongside the River Seine. Two of the robbers cut through the window, and subsequently threatened the guards inside, who evacuated the building.
Allegedly, the robbers tried to set fire to their vehicle on the way out, but were prevented by a member of staff. Instead, they made off hastily on scooters. They have not yet been caught, leaving many professionals to believe the jewellery will never be found.
Recently, Gérald Darmanin, the justice minister of France, bemoaned the wider ramifications on the country, sharing, “People were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of Paris, get people up it in several minutes to grab priceless jewels and give France a terrible image.”
He also said of the current mood in the country, “The French feel like they have been robbed.”
