The Louvre Museum, the world’s largest and one of Paris’s most iconic landmarks, was shut down for a day on following a reported robbery.
Confirming the incident, France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati said on X: “A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the @MuseeLouvre. No injuries were reported. I am on site alongside the museum staff and the police. Investigations are underway.”
The museum also announced on its social media handles that it would remain closed for the day due to “exceptional reasons.”
According to reports in Le Monde, citing Le Parisien, three suspects stole nine pieces of jewellery from the collection of Napoleon and Empress Joséphine.
What is Louvre Museum?
Louvre is the largest museum in the world, which has nearly 73,000 square metres of exhibition space.
It was initially built in 1546 as a palace for the French royal family.
The first resident of it was King Francis I.
Subsequent kings greatly expanded the crown’s art holdings, with Louis XIV even acquiring the art collection of English King Charles I, after his execution in the English Civil War, as reported by BBC.
Despite remaining a private collection until the French Revolution in 1789, the Louvre was later opened as a public art gallery in 1793.
The museum, which, as per media reports, attracts 30,000 daily visitors, displays more than 35,000 works of art, including the famous Mona Lisa painting.
