In a brazen daylight robbery on Sunday, thieves stormed the Louvre Museum in Paris and made off with several of France’s priceless crown jewels within just seven minutes, officials and sources confirmed to AFP.
The robbers reportedly dropped a gem-encrusted crown while escaping, leaving it behind as they fled the scene. The dramatic theft — one of several recent museum heists in France — forced an immediate evacuation and temporary closure of the world’s most-visited museum, home to the iconic Mona Lisa.
President Emmanuel Macron said on social media that authorities were “doing everything possible” to catch the culprits and retrieve the stolen artifacts.
Outside the Louvre, soldiers patrolled the museum’s glass pyramid entrance as police cordoned off the area and kept visitors and tourists at a distance.
“It felt like a Hollywood movie,” said Talia Ocampo, an American tourist who witnessed the aftermath. “It was crazy — something we’ll never forget. We couldn’t go to the Louvre because there was a robbery.”
