Sawt Falasteen - Tourists upset as Louvre stays shut after jewel heist

Would-be museum-goers queued outside the famed tourist attraction for the scheduled 0900 (0700 GMT) opening, a day after robbers stole precious jewellery and fled on scooters.

But the mood soured when the museum announced it would stay closed for a second day.

"It's my birthday, it was my gift, and I've wanted to come for several years, so I'm a bit upset," Elisa Valentino, a 31-year-old visiting from Italy told AFP.

"I studied art... It's even the only thing I had planned for my stay in Paris, and I'm leaving tomorrow," she said, wiping away tears.

Lingering outside the closed gates, US tourist Jesslyn Ehlers, 38, and her husband were busy rebooking their tickets.

"We heard about the heist the day before so we checked online before coming and we didn't hear anything," she told AFP. "We were excited to show up."

But on arrival, they found a sign saying the museum would stay shut for a second day.

"We're just kind of disappointed. We've been planning this for a very long time," she said.

Those who had booked same-day visits would be reimbursed, the Louvre said in a statement.

"We'll be refunded but that's not the point," said Adam Cooke, 65, who had travelled from London with his wife Rachel.

With their return set for Tuesday, the couple will miss their chance to visit the museum, whose extensive collections include the Mona Lisa.

The Louvre, along with the Eiffel Tower, ranks among the French capital's must-see attractions, drawing nearly nine million visitors last year -- around 80 percent of them from abroad.

- 'Unimaginable' -

Tourists said they were shocked after masked thieves took off with eight priceless items, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his wife, Empress Marie-Louise.

The burglars dropped and damaged a ninth item -- the crown of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III -- as they made their escape.

"It was amazing that the heist happened in broad daylight. I mean, that is obviously very unfortunate... very embarrassing," said Cooke, the 65-year-old British tourist.

He discovered from news websites how the burglars parked an extendable ladder like those used by movers below the museum's Apollo Gallery, where they used cutting equipment to get in through a window and open the display cases.

All in just seven minutes.

For Sissi Liu, a 39-year-old visiting from China with her husband and young sons, the theft was "unimaginable".

"It's a big shock that someone can get in there and steal something," she told AFP.

Andreea Dumitras, 17, from Moldova, came to Paris with friends and family and said she was not surprised the museum stayed closed after the brazen theft.

"What's most frustrating is that the security at the Louvre is so weak," she said.

With her departure set for Thursday, the 17-year-old said she hopes to make it inside on Wednesday -- if the museum reopens in time.

But she was not optimistic.

"Someone from security told me it's not even certain it will reopen" by then, she said.

L.AbuTayeh--SF-PST