French President Emmanuel Macron said that the theft committed in the Louvre is “a blow to the country’s national heritage”.
“The theft committed in the Louvre is an attack on the heritage that we value because it is our history,” Macron emphasised in a corresponding message on social network X.
The head of state assured that the stolen works of art will be found and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. According to him, “everything is being done to achieve this – under the guidance of the Paris prosecutor’s office”.
Macron also recalled that the Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance initiative, launched in January, includes enhanced security measures. This project, according to the President, “should be a guarantee of the preservation and defence of French cultural memory”.
Earlier, the Louvre museum was robbed in Paris, Fancia Culture Minister Rachida Dati said. The incident took place early in the morning on 19 October, before the opening. None of the museum staff was injured.
According to Le Parisien, three people were involved in the robbery. They got into the house through the area where construction work was underway, went up in a freight lift, broke windows and entered the Apollo Gallery.
The publication’s source says the criminals stole nine items from Napoleon’s jewellery collection – among them a necklace, brooch, tiaras and other pieces of jewellery.
The Louvre is the world’s most visited museum. About nine million people visit it every year.