Overview

• Authorities say several intruders struck around 9:30 a.m., using a truck‑mounted basket lift and cutting tools to breach a second‑floor window in 4 to 7 minutes.
• The thieves smashed display cases in the Galerie d’Apollon and escaped on two‑wheelers, according to the Interior Ministry.
• No injuries were reported as police evacuated visitors and the museum shut for the day for “exceptional reasons,” with Culture Minister Rachida Dati and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez on site.
• Officials describe the stolen items as of inestimable patrimonial value; French media, citing police sources, report nine pieces from the Napoleon and Empress collection and say one jewel was later found broken outside.
• Paris prosecutors opened a case for organized theft and criminal conspiracy, specialized units and forensics are compiling a precise inventory, and three to four suspects remain at large.