France’s Justice Minister admits security lapses led to Louvre robbery

France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has admitted that security flaws gave robbers a chance to steal imperial jewels from the Louvre in broad daylight on Sunday, forcing the country to launch a massive investigation into the incident.

"What is certain is that we have failed, since people were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of Paris, get people up it in several minutes to grab priceless jewels and give France a terrible image,"  Darmanin told France Inter radio as quoted by European Conservative website.

Meanwhile, a video has gone viral online showing the moment a thief, dressed as a construction worker, was cutting through a glass display case inside the museum.

Thieves carried out a daring daylight robbery at the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, stealing several Napoleon-era jewels and forcing authorities to temporarily close the world-famous landmark as police launched a major investigation.

According to reports, police cordoned off the museum and a nearby stretch of road along the River Seine following the incident.

French Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed the robbery on her X page earlier in the day.

Speaking later to French broadcaster TF1, as quoted by BBC, Dati said one of the stolen jewellery items had been found near the scene of the heist, apparently dropped during the thieves’ escape.

“It is being assessed,” she added.

Dati described the culprits as having “acted professionally, without any violence and without any panic.”

Citing Le Parisien, Le Monde reported that three thieves stole nine pieces from the jewellery collection of Napoleon and Empress Joséphine. The Paris prosecutor’s office said an investigation had been opened for “organised theft” and “criminal conspiracy.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told Le Monde the stolen items were “priceless,” adding that the “three or four” suspects targeted two display cases in the museum’s Apollo Gallery, completing the heist in just seven minutes.

The Louvre Museum

The Louvre, the world’s largest museum, has approximately 73,000 square metres of exhibition space and displays over 35,000 works of art, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Originally built in 1546 as a royal palace for King Francis I, it remained a private collection until the French Revolution in 1789, when it was opened to the public as a museum in 1793.

The Louvre attracts around 30,000 visitors daily and stands as one of the most visited cultural landmarks in the world.