Astonishing video footage has surfaced, seemingly capturing the moments the alleged perpetrators of the brazen Louvre jewel heist made their escape. The video shows two individuals descending a mechanical ladder attached to a truck, right in the middle of a busy Parisian street during daylight hours.
The daring daylight robbery saw a gang of four thieves break into the famed Paris museum and make off with an estimated €88 million (£77 million) worth of France’s most precious crown jewels. The entire operation took less than eight minutes.
In the wake of the theft, the director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, admitted to lawmakers that museum staff had failed to detect the robbers quickly enough. She revealed that a crucial CCTV camera in the Gallery of Apollo, where the jewels were housed, was unfortunately facing the wrong direction. “There is a weakness at the Louvre and I acknowledge it completely,” des Cars stated.
The footage shows the ladder-equipped truck parked alongside the Seine, with passing vehicles seemingly oblivious to the unfolding drama. The thieves, who remain at large, managed to steal eight items, including an emerald necklace and earrings that were a gift from Napoleon Bonaparte to his second wife, Marie-Louise.
In their hasty retreat, the thieves dropped a 19th-century diamond-studded crown belonging to Empress Eugenie. While the crown was recovered, it sustained damage, with des Cars suggesting it was likely crushed as the thieves forcibly removed it from its display case.
Authorities have been diligently pursuing the investigation, with Paris city prosecutor Laure Beccuau reporting that up to 150 DNA samples and fingerprints have been collected so far.