The estimated value of the stolen royal jewelry set from the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, has been assessed at 88 million euros (approximately 146 billion won). As French authorities launch a large-scale manhunt, there are ongoing outcries in France that "the historical loss is immeasurable" and "the items may never be recovered."
"The Historical Loss Far Exceeds the Economic Damage"
According to reports from CNN in the United States and the BBC in the United Kingdom on October 22, Paris prosecutor Laure Bequio stated in an interview with France's RTL radio, "The scale of the damage from this theft was calculated based on the museum curator's estimate," adding, "While the financial loss is immense, it is nothing compared to the damage to historical value." The stolen items are French royal jewels crafted during the Napoleonic era, and currently, about 100 investigators have been deployed to track down the perpetrators. Experts are concerned that the likelihood of recovering the jewels is low. Prosecutor Bequio warned, "If the thieves attempt to dismantle the jewelry or melt down the metals for resale, they will not be able to fetch their full value."
The Louvre Museum remained closed through Tuesday in accordance with its regular schedule and is set to reopen on Wednesday. The Apollo Gallery, where the theft occurred, will remain closed for the time being. According to investigative authorities, the perpetrators used a ladder mounted on a truck to enter the Apollo Gallery-one of the Louvre's most ornate exhibition rooms-through a window. They targeted two display cases using tools such as cutters and blowtorches. According to the Paris prosecutor, the entire operation took just four minutes. From the moment of entering the gallery to stealing the jewels and escaping, it took less than seven minutes in total. The Paris prosecutor stated, "At 9:34 a.m., 30 minutes after opening, two men wearing yellow vests broke a window, and by 9:38 a.m., they had fled the scene on two scooters along the Seine River."
Theft Completed in Seven Minutes... Security Flaws Exposed
Among the stolen items are an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon I gifted to his wife Empress Marie Louise, the crown and brooch of Empress Eug?nie, wife of Napoleon III, and sapphire necklaces associated with Queen Marie-Am?lie and Queen Hortense from the 18th century. The diadem-a crown-shaped headpiece-features 24 Sri Lankan (Ceylon) sapphires and 1,083 diamonds, and the jewels can be separated and worn as a brooch.
French Justice Minister G?rald Darmanin acknowledged that this Louvre theft revealed security flaws at the museum, stating, "This incident has made every French citizen feel as if they themselves have been robbed."
Elaine Sciolino, author of the book "The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs," commented, "The Louvre was originally built as a fortress and later transformed into the royal palace of the French monarchy, making it a symbolic space. This attack struck at the very heart of France and its history."
Police are conducting an investigation around the Louvre Museum where a theft incident occurred. Photo by AP Yonhap News
"The Jewels Are Likely Already Out of the Country"... Recovery Prospects 'Pessimistic'
Nathalie Goulet, a centrist member of the French Senate, told CNN, "It is highly likely that the jewels have already been smuggled out of the country," adding, "They are effectively lost forever." She also told BBC Radio, "There is absolutely no chance of recovery," warning that "the jewels are likely to be broken up and used as a means of money laundering." Author Sciolino likewise remarked, "There is a high probability that the jewels will be separated, cut up, and sold on the black market, making it extremely unlikely they will ever be fully recovered in their original form."
The most notorious theft in the Louvre's history previously occurred in August 1911, when an Italian repairman stole Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. At that time, it took more than 24 hours for the disappearance to be noticed, as artworks were often temporarily moved for photography or cleaning. Due to a lax police investigation, the case remained unsolved for nearly two years, and the painting was only recovered in December 1913. Even after this, other thefts have occurred at the Louvre, such as the 1998 disappearance of a work by French painter Camille Corot, which remains missing to this day.
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