Sawt Falasteen - Power tool-wielding robbers flee Louvre with 'priceless' jewels

Police were hunting the culprits on Sunday afternoon, but a 19th-century crown covered in diamonds and emeralds was found damaged near the building.

The robbers used a furniture hoist and power tools to get into the gallery, which houses France's crown jewels as well as the Mona Lisa, sources and officials said.

The crown of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was found broken near the museum afterwards, a source following the robbery said, asking to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The crown features golden eagles and is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, according to the museum's website.

The robbery -- one of several to target French museums in recent months -- forced the Louvre to close for the rest of the day.

Armed soldiers patrolled the esplanade around the famed glass pyramid serving as its main entrance, while police teams were seen going inside. Evacuated visitors, tourists and passersby were kept at a distance behind police tape.

"Please, don't waste your time, just go home and get a refund from the website," one museum worker told a visitor barred from entering.

- Angle grinders -

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said three or four thieves had used the furniture hoist to steal "priceless" goods from two displays in the museum's "Gallerie d'Apollon" ("Apollo's Gallery").

It was not immediately clear what other items were taken.

Pieces usually on display there also include three historical diamonds -- the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia -- as well as an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon gave his wife Empress Marie Louise, it said.

The thieves arrived between 9:30 and 9:40 am (0730 and 0740 GMT), the source following the case said. The museum opened to the public at 9 am.

A separate police source said the robbers had drawn up on a scooter armed with angle grinders and used the hoist -- an extendible ladder used to move furniture -- to reach the room they were targeting.

The brazen robbery happened just 800 metres from Paris police headquarters.

The Louvre said on X it was closing its doors for the day for "exceptional reasons". It did not immediately mention the robbery.

Contacted by AFP, the Louvre declined further comment.

The Paris prosecutor's office said it had opened an investigation and the value of the hoard was still being estimated.

- Series of heists -

The Louvre used to be the seat of French kings until Louis XIV abandoned it for Versailles in the late 1600s.

It is the world's most visited museum, last year welcoming nine million people to its extensive hallways and galleries.

Louis XIV commissioned the "Gallerie d'Apollon", which later served as a model for the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre. It was recovered months later and today sits behind security glass.

Several French museums have recently been targeted by thieves.

Last month, criminals used an angle grinder to break into Paris's Natural History Museum, making off with gold samples worth 600,000 euros ($700,000).

In November last year, four thieves stole snuffboxes and other precious artifacts from the Cognacq-Jay museum in Paris, breaking into a display case with axes and baseball bats.

He said at the time he hoped that the works could help increase the annual number of visitors to 12 million.

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R.Shaban--SF-PST