'On the Same Day,' 140 Million Won Stolen... France's 'Day of Museum Thefts'

Langres 'Maison des Lumi?res Denis Diderot'
Over $100,000 Worth of Gold and Silver Coins Stolen

It was belatedly revealed that, on the same day a theft occurred at the Louvre Museum in Paris, a thief also broke into a museum in a small French town.

On the 23rd (local time), The Washington Post reported that the Louvre was not the only museum in France to experience a theft on the 19th. The newspaper stated that, on the same day, a thief also broke into the Maison des Lumi?res Denis Diderot Museum in Langres, a small town in northeastern France.

On the 19th (local time), the Maison des Lumi?res Denis Diderot Museum in Langres, France, was robbed. Langres, France ? AFP Yonhap News Agency

The Maison des Lumi?res Denis Diderot Museum was established to honor Denis Diderot (1713-1784), the 18th-century Enlightenment philosopher, writer, and leader of the Encyclop?distes. The museum opened in 2013, marking the 300th anniversary of Diderot's birth. The museum displayed the first edition of Diderot's seminal work, the Encyclop?die, as well as an 18th-century model of Copernicus's solar system, among other items. However, the thieves stole only gold and silver coins. More than 2,000 gold and silver coins were taken, some of which were minted between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The value of the stolen coins is reported to exceed $100,000 (approximately 140 million won).

According to a Langres local government official, the perpetrators broke through the main entrance of the hotel located within the museum, then proceeded to break the front door and glass display cases before making off with the items. The theft was not discovered until the following morning. Authorities explained that the theft was a highly professional, targeted crime. The Washington Post reported that the museum is currently closed.

Meanwhile, on the morning of the 19th, a group of four thieves parked a ladder truck by the Seine River outside the Louvre Museum in Paris, broke into the second-floor Apollo Gallery, and stole eight royal treasures. After smashing a window to gain entry, they broke two high-security glass display cases and stole jewels that once belonged to the French royal family. The entire operation took only seven minutes, and the stolen items are estimated to be worth about 140 billion won.