Louvre Museum Reopens After Napolein Collection Theft

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION/Michael Fousert

JAKARTA - The Louvre Museum in Paris was reopened to visitors on Wednesday, two days after the theft of invaluable jewelry.

A group of thieves last weekend broke into the Louvre Museum and stole nine of the total 23 jewelry in the collection of Napoleon and The Queen.

The stolen items included the EU, earrings, necklaces, and brooch ever owned by the queen and the French empress.

The museum was closed following the incident and was scheduled to reopen on Monday, but management decided to extend the shutdown.

At 08.30 local time (06.30 GMT), around 100 people had queued for the opening of the museum which was scheduled for 09.00.

"According to the plan, the museum will open today. Only the space where the theft occurred will remain closed," said a Louvre employee in charge of receiving visitors to RIA Novosti as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, October 22.

However, another museum employee said he did not yet know whether the museum would operate as usual on Wednesday.

"We are still waiting for additional instructions from the board of directors," he said.

On October 19, the Le Parisien newspaper reported thieves breaking into the Louvre and stealing nine of the 23 jewelry exhibited at the Apollo Gallery, which holds some collections of royal jewelry and French empire, including brooches, necklaces, and tiara.

Minister of Culture Rachida Dati stated that there were no injuries in the incident and an ongoing investigation.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez explained the thieves entered the Louvre through a window using a ladder mounted on a lifting device (cherry picker), cutting the windows with a corner, then fleeing using a scooter.

Nunez did not rule out the possibility that the perpetrators came from abroad. Le Parisien also reported that the theft was carried out by four groups, two of whom entered the museum.