Overview
- French radio RTL reported that select treasures from the Apollo Gallery were transferred Friday under police escort to the Bank of France vault about 500 meters away, with neither institution commenting publicly.
- The Oct. 19 robbery lasted under four minutes as four perpetrators used a truck-mounted cherry-picker to access an upper window, cut reinforced glass, smash display cases, and flee on motorbikes.
- A French prosecutor put the haul’s value at roughly $102 million, including Empress Eugénie’s wedding crown, a sapphire-and-diamond diadem, and an emerald-and-diamond necklace with matching earrings; another crown was dropped and found damaged.
- Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said investigators are analyzing up to about 150 DNA samples, fingerprints, and other traces, aided by public and private camera footage beyond the museum’s perimeter.
- Interior Minister Laurent Nunez conceded security failures as Culture Minister Rachida Dati ordered an administrative inquiry; the Louvre reopened Wednesday but kept the Galerie d’Apollon closed.