The Louvre is keeping the jewels at the Banque de France. It's unclear when they will be returned to the museum.

A high-profile theft of priceless jewels occurred last Sunday . In broad daylight, while visitors were already inside the Louvre, thieves, posing as workers, entered the museum through one of its balcony windows using a forklift and cutters to remove the jewels from their display cases. They returned undisturbed by the same route.

The French Ministry of Culture announced that eight priceless jewels were stolen from the Galleries Apollo. Among the stolen jewels are a necklace and earrings from the Marie Louise collection, a necklace, earrings, and a tiara from the collections of Queen Marie Amélie and Queen Hortense, and two brooches, a corset bow, and a tiara from the collection of Empress Eugénie. Investigators later found the latter near the museum, abandoned or lost by the robbers, which one Louvre security guard described as evidence that their "plan had been foiled."

Jewels stolen from the Louvre

Photo: Interpol

The material value of the stolen jewels is estimated at around €88 million, but their historical value is priceless. It is already known that the collection was not insured . An investigation is ongoing .

Early Friday morning, five days after the spectacular robbery, the remaining jewels from the collection, some of the Louvre's most valuable surviving artifacts, were transported under heavy police escort to the Banque de France. This decision was made to protect the collection under increased security.

It is not known when the items will return to public display.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau expressed hope for progress in the ongoing investigation, revealing that more than 150 DNA samples, fingerprints and other traces had been collected from the crime scene.

"The results in the coming days could lead to clues, especially if the perpetrators are identified," she told the Ouest-France daily. Beccuau added that the widespread media coverage of this "organized robbery" could put pressure on the suspects. "There is little hope that the perpetrators will not dare to move the jewels repeatedly," she said.

Speaking before the Senate earlier this week, Louvre director Laurence des Cars admitted that the museum was aware of weaknesses in its security system.

" We didn't detect the thieves' arrival early enough," she said, citing "insufficient monitoring" and "serious problems with security." After the break-in, des Cars submitted her resignation, but Culture Minister Rachida Dati rejected it.

Dati also condemned the "false information circulating" about the museum's security systems, while defending efforts to strengthen the protection of France's most important cultural sites.