Louvre robbery LIVE: Thieves drop priceless crown outside Paris museum in broad daylight | World | News

A gang of “highly organized criminals” used chainsaws to break into the Louvre and steal millions of pounds worth of jewelery once belonging to Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte in just seven minutes. The crooks were in such a hurry that they dropped the priceless Eugénie Tiara as they fled the scene just after 9.30am this morning (Sunday).

A gang raided the world art museum in Paris over the weekend, causing it to close on Sunday.
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati said: “I am here with the museum staff and the police.”

He said a criminal investigation had been launched and detectives were liaising with museum staff.
According to Ms Dati, no one was injured during the raids, while a Louvre spokesman confirmed that the museum was closed “for exceptional reasons”.

Meanwhile, police sources told Le Parisien: “The criminals gained access to the building on the banks of the Seine River, where construction work was continuing. The newspaper reported that hooded criminals carrying “small electric saws” entered the building from the banks of the Seine River, where construction work was continuing.

‘They used a freight elevator that went directly to the target room. After breaking the windows, two men broke in and stole nine items (a necklace, a brooch and more) from Napoleon and the Empress’s jewelery collection.’

After being crowned Emperor and Empress of France in 1804, Napoleon and Josephine amassed one of the most magnificent collections of jewelry ever.

While many of the pieces were stolen from the Crown during the French Revolution, others were collected from across the Empire.

We will bring you the latest updates, pictures and videos on this breaking news story.

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