The Louvre museum in Paris has announced it will remain closed on Monday as investigations continue into the cinematic theft of “priceless” jewels on Sunday. However, experts say their chances of recovery are slim.

In a post on X, the museum said it regretted closing its doors on Monday as France tries to recover from a brazen theft in which robbers made off with French crown jewels dating back to the Napoleonic era.

Thieves used a crane to gain access to the Apollo Gallery, one of the Louvre’s most elaborate rooms, through a window. Equipped with tools such as a wheel, they targeted two showcases that have a high security system. The whole operation lasted only seven minutes, as reported by the authorities.

Eight of the nine stolen items are still missing, including a tiara and necklace worn by Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense.

Empress Eugenia’s tiara

Louvre

The brooch, known as the “reliquary brooch” of Empress Eugenia

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin admitted that the Louvre robbery exposed security deficiencies at the museum.

“One might question the fact that, for example, the windows were not secured, the fact that a hoist was on a public road.”he told France Inter radio. “What is certain is that we have failed.”

“All French people feel like they’ve been robbed”he added.

Louvre

According to CNN, Natalie Goulet, a centrist member of the French senate, was asked on BBC radio about the prospects of recovering the jewels and replied: “None.”

“The jewelry will be cut up, sold and used for money laundering,” he said, noting that the robbery was likely linked to organized crime.

“They have absolutely no morals”he said adding that “they don’t see the jewelry as a piece of history, but as a means to launder their profits.”

Goulet stressed that she was “very, very pessimistic” about the prospects of recovering the jewels.

Elaine Sciolino, author of “Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum,” also appeared pessimistic.

“They can be cut, sold on the black market”he told BBC Radio. “It is unlikely that they will all be recovered in the form they are today.”

Sciolino emphasized the symbolic importance of the event, a robbery at the Louvre, which was originally built as a fortress before becoming a palace for the French royal family.

“This attack is truly a stab in the heart of France and French history”he said.

“If the robbers are not caught within 48 hours, the jewels will be gone”

Chris Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International, a company that locates stolen art, believes French police have a limited window of time in which to recover the jewels.

“There’s a road race going on right now”he told the BBC World Service’s Newshour radio show on Sunday, adding that if these thieves are not caught in the next 24 to 48 hours these pieces will probably already be gone.

The robbers “are not going to keep them intact, they will dismantle them, melt down the precious metal, re-cut any precious stones and hide evidence of their crime,” Marinello said.

In this case, there is “virtually no way” to trace the jewelry, he added.

“They may arrest the criminals, but they will not recover the jewels,” he said.

France: Directive to strengthen security around museums

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunes will send a directive to strengthen the security mechanism around the country’s cultural institutions after the spectacular theft yesterday, Sunday, of priceless jewels from the Louvre museum, the minister’s entourage announced today.

This decision was taken after a meeting he had in the ministry with the Minister of Culture Rashida Dati, as well as the heads of the police services in order to identify what worked and what did not work, the same source clarified.

A spokesman for the Louvre museum also said earlier that it will remain closed today, following yesterday’s spectacular break-in and the theft of jewels.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunes will send a directive to strengthen the security mechanism around the country’s cultural institutions after the spectacular theft yesterday, Sunday, of priceless jewels from the Louvre museum, the minister’s entourage announced today.

This decision was taken after a meeting he had in the ministry with the Minister of Culture Rashida Dati, as well as the heads of the police services in order to identify what worked and what did not work, the same source clarified.

It is noted that the thieves removed eight valuable objects from the museum, while they also tried to steal a ninth, which was found thrown at the scene of the theft.

The Paris prosecutor clarified that the famous Regent white diamond, which is exhibited in the same room, was not the target of the thieves.

Sotheby’s estimates that the diamond is worth more than $60 million.