A day after the $102 million heist at the Louvre, another heist was reported at a French museum — La Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot — in northeastern France. According to media reports, several gold and silver coins were stolen from the museum on the day it was closed.
The robbery was discovered when museum staff arrived the next day to find signs of forced entry through the sliding front door and broken glass. No other object was stolen from the museum.
The town hall said in a press release that part of the “museum treasure” was stolen. It reads: “The law enforcement officers were immediately alerted and went to the site. Accompanied by the building manager, they conducted a complete search of the premises. According to initial observations, part of the “museum treasure”, a collection of silver and gold coins discovered during renovation work at the Hôtel du Breuil, which is now a museum, has disappeared.”
“The display case that protected it was found broken on the ground. Museum teams are currently conducting an accurate inventory of the items to hand over to law enforcement,” it said. Also read | Louvre heist becomes marketing gold for German company behind truck: ‘When you need to go fast’
The stolen coins were part of a collection of nearly 2,000 pieces discovered in 2011 that were hidden in the museum’s woodwork during the renovation of the historic mansion.
The Louvre heist: How it happened
Jewelry worth $102 million was stolen in a weekend heist at the world’s most visited museum, the Louvre, which shocked the world. The accused robbed the museum in just four minutes and are still at large.
On October 19, thieves disguised as renovation workers park a truck equipped with a cargo lift on the sidewalk at the foot of the Louvre and also place traffic cones around the truck to simulate maintenance.
Two people climb a ladder to get to the balcony and get in through the window. They entered the southern end of the Apollo Gallery. While security scrambled, the robbers used circular cutters to cut the glass that held the jewels.
Security personnel are forcing visitors to evacuate in accordance with crowd safety requirements. The museum manager calls the nearby police station to report the theft in progress and request immediate assistance.
The thieves left through the same window and fled to the east with two other people waiting for them on two scooters.
Later, police found the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds outside the museum.
