Looted Louvre treasures may never be found, experts say

CNN The Louvre museum in Paris released it would remain closed Monday as investigations continue into Sunday s extraordinary theft of historic jewelry and experts say the prospects of recovering the treasures are slim In a post on X the museum revealed it regretted Monday s closure as France begins to digest the implications of the brazen heist in which robbers made off with artifacts from the French crown jewels dating from the Napoleonic era How did the heist happen The thieves used a truck-mounted ladder to gain access to the Apollo Gallery one of the preponderance ornate rooms in the Louvre through a window RELATED Louvre heist Crown jewels stolen in -minute daytime raid Armed with tools including an angle grinder and a blowtorch they targeted two high-security display cases The entire operation lasted just seven minutes agents explained with the defendants fleeing on motorcyles What was stolen Among the items taken from the Louvre was a diamond and sapphire jewelry set including a tiara and necklace worn by Queen Marie-Am lie and Queen Hortense The diadem a jeweled headpiece worn by royalty features Ceylon sapphires and diamonds that can be detached and worn as brooches according to the Louvre Also stolen was an emerald necklace and earrings set that was a wedding gift from Napoleon to his second wife Marie-Louise of Austria in March containing intricately cut emeralds and diamonds Eight of the nine items taken remain unaccounted for Wider implications for France French Justice Minister G rald Darmanin admitted that the Louvre heist exposed safeguard failings at the museum One can wonder about the fact that for example the windows hadn t been secured about the fact that a basket lift was on a citizens road he declared on France Inter radio What is certain is that we have failed The French people all feel like they ve been robbed he added Elaine Sciolino author of Adventures in the Louvre How to Fall in Love with the World s Greatest Museum emphasized the significance of a robbery at the Louvre which was originally built as a fortress before becoming a palace for the French royal family This attack really is a dagger into the heart of France and French history she explained Will the jewelry be recovered Natalie Goulet a Centrist member of the French senate advised CNN on Monday that she believes the jewelry has seemingly already been taken out of the country Related Articles Apple s new iPhone outsells previous model by in US China Model charged with murder in connection with ambush-style shooting in California parking garage This day in History October Hearings question alleged Communist influence in Hollywood Louvre heist Crown jewels stolen in -minute daytime raid Currently in History October Black Monday on Wall Street I think that the pieces are already abroad she noted I think it s lost forever Goulet also appeared on BBC Radio about the prospects of recovering the jewelry replying None The jewelry will be cut up and sold and used as a money-laundering system she disclosed It s the easiest way to clean dirty money The robbery was perhaps linked to organized crime Goulet mentioned They have absolutely no morals she reported They don t appreciate the jewelry as a piece of history but the way to clean their dirty money Goulet added that she was very very pessimistic about the prospects of recovering the jewelry Sciolino the author was similarly downbeat They can be dissembled they can be cut they can be sold on the black sector she stated BBC Radio It is unlikely that all of them are going to be recuperated in the shape that they are now Christopher Marinello the founder of Art Recovery International disclosed that if the thieves are just looking to get cash out as fast as achievable they might melt down the precious metals or recut the stones with no regard for the piece s integrity We need to break up these gangs and find another approach or we re going to lose things that we are never going to see again Marinello recounted CNN Past heists The largest part well-known robbery at the Louvre took place in August when Leonardo da Vinci s Mona Lisa was stolen off the museum s walls by handyman Vincenzo Peruggia It was hours before anyone even noticed the Mona Lisa was missing with artworks often removed to be photographed or cleaned A bungling police analysis then dragged on for two years before the painting was recovered in December making it the preponderance famous artwork in the world More in recent weeks a work by French painter Camille Corot was stolen from its frame in and has never been discovered More modern heists at other European museums include the theft of four ancient gold artifacts from a museum in the Netherlands in January Robbers used explosives to break into the Drents Museum in Assen making off with three gold bracelets dating from around BC as well as the th-century BC gold Helmet of Cotofenesti a historically fundamental artifact on loan from the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest Correction This story has been updated to reflect that there was a theft from the Louvre in