Louvre remains closed one day after jewel heist

PARIS (AP) — The Louvre remained closed Monday, a day after historic jewels were stolen from the world’s most-visited museum in a daring daylight heist that prompted authorities to reassess security measures at cultural sites across France.

The museum’s staff asked dozens of visitors who were queuing in front of the glass pyramid entrance to leave. In a message posted on social media, the Louvre said visitors who have booked tickets will be refunded. It did not provide additional details. The Louvre will also be closed on Tuesday, its weekly closing day.

On Sunday, thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre’s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said. The theft occurred about 30 minutes after the museum opened, with visitors already inside, and was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory.

It unfolded just 250 meters (270 yards) from the Mona Lisa, in what Culture Minister Rachida Dati described as a professional operation that lasted just a few minutes.

French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin acknowledged security failures on Monday.

“One can wonder about the fact that, for example, the windows hadn’t been secured, about the fact that a basket lift was on a public road,” he said on France Inter radio. “Having (previously) been interior minister, I know that we cannot completely secure all places, but what is certain is that we have failed.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez ordered prefects across France to immediately reassess security measures protecting museums and other cultural sites and enhance them if needed.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati said investigators are working on evidence found at the scene.

“We did find motorcycles and they have a license plate,” Dati said on news broadcaster CNews. “I also want to pay tribute to the security officers who prevented the basket lift from being set on fire. One of the criminals tried to set it on fire, but they forced him to flee. This allowed us to recover evidence at the scene.”

Officials said the heist lasted less than eight minutes in total, including less than four minutes inside the Louvre. “They went straight to the display windows, they knew exactly what they wanted. They were very efficient.” Dati said.

Dati stressed that a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan that was launched earlier this year includes security improvements.

“When the Louvre Museum was designed, it was not meant to accommodate 10 million visitors,” she said.

The 700-million-euro ($760-million) plan is intended to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.

Sunday’s theft focused on the gilded Apollo Gallery, where the Crown Diamonds are displayed. Alarms brought Louvre agents to the room, forcing the intruders to bolt, but the robbery was already over.

A worker in the Louvre filmed a person in the Apollo Gallery on Sunday morning wearing a yellow jacket and standing by a glass encasing, according to video viewed and verified by BFM television. It is unclear whether the person is one of the suspects.

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; and Empress Eugénie’s diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch, a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble.

One object, the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later found outside the museum, French authorities said.