The Louvre, one of the largest and most popular museums in the world, was robbed in Paris: details of the crime

On the morning of Sunday, October 19, one of the world's largest and most famous museums, the Louvre, was robbed in Paris. The fact of the incident confirmed french Minister of Culture Rachida Dati.

"This morning, a robbery took place at the opening of the Louvre Museum. No one was injured. I am at the scene with museum staff and police. The investigation is ongoing," the official wrote.

In the Louvre itself reported that the museum will be closed on Sunday due to exceptional circumstances.

Le Parisien newspaper said that, according to preliminary investigative data, the criminals arrived on two very powerful Tmax scooters and entered the building from the Seine River embankment, where repairs were being carried out.

Thanks to the elevator, they were able to get directly to the desired hall – the Apollo Gallery on the second floor, the media reports.

"After breaking the windows with a grinder, two men got inside, and the third probably stayed upstairs. They attacked the first two galleries: the Napoleon Gallery and the French Monarchs Gallery. In total, the thieves stole nine items from the collection of jewelry of Napoleon and the Empress: a necklace, a brooch, a tiara... However, the famous Regent, the largest diamond in the collection weighing over 140 carats, was not stolen. The amount of damage is currently being assessed based on photographs of the missing items," the publication says.

According to Le Parisien, one of the precious items was found outside – it was the crown of Empress Eugenie (wife of Napoleon III), which was "of inestimable value" and damaged.

The newspaper notes that one of the questions that now arises is whether the stolen jewelry has already been melted down to sell the gold.

"The risk is that some of the diamonds may be sold at retail, which will make it much more difficult to recover the jewelry," a source close to the investigation told the media.

According to the newspaper, the criminals fled on TMax scooters in the direction of the A6 highway (connecting Paris and the city of Lyon), which was recorded by CCTV cameras.

• In January, French president Macron announced that Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa would get its own hall as part of a large-scale reconstruction and expansion of the Louvre. Reconstruction can last up to ten years.