French police are searching for the perpetrators of the theft of Napoleon’s jewelry from the Louvre Museum

The French police are searching on Monday for four thieves who stole jewelry on Sunday "Priceless" From The Louvre Museum in Paris.

The theft, which bears the imprint of organized crime groups, occurred in broad daylight in the largest museum in the world, which annually receives about nine million visitors, and includes 35,000 works of art on an area of ​​73,000 square metres.

This operation received widespread international attention, sparked political controversy in France, and reopened the debate about… Museum security facing "Great weakness"according to what Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.

The case is being followed by about 60 investigators from the Anti-Crime Brigade (BRB) of the Paris Judicial Police, and the Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Property.

The theft occurred between 9:30 and 9:40 am (7:30 and 7:40 GMT), by A truck equipped with a crane was parked on the side of the Seine River pier.

The thieves climbed with the crane to the level of the first floor window and smashed it using a portable cutting device. They entered the Apollon Hall, which contained jewelry The French Crown They smashed two highly protected facades that contained jewelry.

The French Ministry of Culture explained that the thieves stole eight jewelry. "Invaluable on the heritage level"Pointing out that a ninth piece, the crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III (who was emperor between 1852 and 1870), was dropped by thieves during their escape.

The Public Prosecutor of the French Republic in Paris, Laure Picot, said that the four men were "Masked" They fled on motorcycles and searches are underway for them.

Among the eight stolen jewelry, all dating back to the nineteenth century, is a ruby ​​necklace belonging to Queen Marie-Emilie, wife of King Louis-Philippe I, consisting of eight rubies and 631 diamonds, according to the website Electronic Louvre.

The thieves also stole an emerald necklace from a set belonging to the third wife of Napoleon I, Marie Louise, which consisted of 32 emeralds and 1,138 diamonds. As for Empress Eugenie’s crown, it contains about 2,000 diamonds.

Nunez said that the theft continued. "Seven minutes"And the perpetrators are thieves "Experienced" They may be "Foreigners" and"maybe" They were known to commit similar incidents.

The Ministry of Culture indicated that the rapid intervention of museum employees deterred the thieves. "They fled, leaving their equipment behind"

Given that it is almost impossible to sell stolen jewelry as it is, Public Prosecutor Pico suggested two hypotheses, one of which is that the thieves acted "For the benefit of a specific party"Or they wanted to steal precious stones "To carry out money laundering operations".