An astonishing video has emerged in France showing burglars appearing to escape from the Louvre with £76million worth of stolen jewellery. It appears two masked men calmly descend a ladder in a mechanical delivery basket at the monument in Paris on Sunday morning (October 19). They had spent just seven minutes in the world’s most popular art museum before fleeing on mopeds with two accomplices.
Gilbert Collard, a lawyer and politician, posted the verified film Thursday morning and wrote: “The thieves from the Louvre quietly offer you the spectacle of the basket.” The men are not threatened by anyone, while security guards express their intense frustration. “The individuals are on scooters – they are about to leave,” says one, as police sirens can be heard in the background. “Hurry! Try the police. They’re gone!” can also be heard, accompanied by swear words. In the meantime, passers-by walk along the Seine embankment without batting an eyelid. A blurry image has also emerged showing one of the robbers breaking into a closet, but it is certainly not clear enough to identify him.
One of the men is wearing full motorcycle gear, including a crash helmet, while another is wearing a yellow safety vest.
The image was captured by a security guard’s cell phone, while the Louvre’s official security cameras failed to cover the window the thieves used to break in.
For the first time since the robbery, Louvre director Laurence des Cars, 59, offered her resignation over the embarrassing failure that allowed the four robbers to strike. However, it was denied by Rachida Dati, the Minister of Culture. Ms Des Cars said: “The only camera installed faces west and therefore did not cover the balcony involved in the burglary. There are some perimeter cameras but they are outdated.
“Despite our efforts, despite our hard work every day, we were defeated. We did not detect the arrival of the thieves early enough.”
On Wednesday (October 23), Ms Des Cars was questioned by senators, mainly about how a flatbed truck with an extendable ladder could have parked facing the wrong way on the pavement immediately outside the Louvre. It made a U-turn on a three-lane one-way street along the Seine and was used by the gang to get to the first floor of the museum.
They carried out the raid in just seven minutes, breaking open two cabinets containing eight pieces of Napoleonic jewellery, described as ‘the crown jewels of France’. Ms Des Cars explained that the pieces were not insured due to the huge premium costs.
Among them is the Eugénie crown, which was found broken by the thieves under the window of the Louvre and thrown away.
The Second Empire piece, created in 1855, is decorated with thousands of diamonds and emeralds. It is named after Eugénie de Montijo, who became Empress of the French after her marriage to Napoleon III in 1853.
The raid took place between 9:20 am and 9:27 am before management opted to close the Louvre for three days. The most visited museum in the world, which also houses the Mona Lisa painting, reopened to visitors on Wednesday.
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