Experts warn that the gold could be melted and the stones could be cut again to erase their past.
The choreography of a four-minute crime
Key planning details have come into focus. Nine days before the raid, thieves stole a truck-mounted elevator — the type moving companies use to reach upper floors — after responding to a fake moving ad on the French classifieds site Leboncoin, Beccuau said Wednesday.
That same day, the same vehicle was stopped under the facade of the Louvre next to the river.
A soldier patrols the courtyard of the Louvre museum on Thursday.Credit: AP
At 9:30 he went up to the window of the Apollo Gallery; at 9:34 the glass gave way; at 9:38 the crew had left. It was a four-minute strike.
Only the “almost simultaneous” arrival of police and museum security prevented the thieves from setting fire to the elevator and preserved crucial fingerprints, the prosecutor said.
Security footage shows at least four men forcing a window, cutting two display cases with power tools and fleeing on two scooters towards the east of Paris. Investigators say there are no signs of inside help for now, although they do not rule out a broader network beyond the four who appear on camera.
The security reckoning
French police have recognized major gaps in the Louvre’s defenses, turning an audacious robbery, which took place as visitors walked its halls, into a national reckoning over how France protects its treasures.
Paris police chief Patrice Faure told senators that the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s security systems but from a cyclist outside who called the emergency line after seeing helmeted men lifting a basket.
He recognized that aging, partly analog cameras and slow repairs left seams.
The $US93 million ($142 million) of wiring work will not be finished before 2029-30, and the Louvre’s chamber authorization even expired in July. The officers arrived quickly, he said, but the delay occurred earlier in the chain.
Speaking to the AP, former bank robber David Desclos characterized the heist as textbook and said he had warned the Louvre about obvious vulnerabilities in the Apollo Gallery’s design. The Louvre has not responded to the claim.
Who is already accused?
Two previous suspects, men aged 34 and 39 from Aubervilliers, north of Paris, were charged on Wednesday with robbery by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy after almost 96 hours in custody. Beccuau said both made “minimalist” statements and “partially admitted” their involvement.
One was detained at Charles-de-Gaulle airport with a one-way ticket to Algeria; His DNA matched the scooter used in the escape.
DNA collected at the scene led to the arrest of a suspect.Credit: fake images
French law typically keeps active investigations under a cloak of secrecy to protect police work and the privacy of victims. Only the prosecutor can speak publicly, although in high-profile cases police unions have occasionally shared partial details.
The brazen theft inside the world’s most visited museum shocked the heritage world. Four men, a forklift and a stopwatch turned the luminous golden glow of the Apollo Gallery into a crime scene and evidence of how France protects what it loves most.
