An astonishing video seemingly showing burglars escaping from the Louvre with £76million-worth of stolen jewels has emerged in France. It appears to show two masked men calmly descending a ladder in a mechanical delivery basket by the Paris landmark on Sunday morning (October 19). They had spent just seven minutes in the world’s most popular art museum before getting away with two accomplices on mopeds. 

Gilbert Collard, a lawyer and politician, posted the verified film on Thursday morning, writing: “The Louvre thieves offer you the spectacle of the basket in complete tranquillity”. The men are not threatened by anybody, as security guards express their intense frustration. “The individuals are on scooters – they are about to leave,” says one, as police sirens can be heard in the background. “Blast! Try the police. They’ve gone!” can also be heard, accompanied by swear words. Passers-by, meanwhile, walk along the River Seine quay without batting an eyelid. A blurry image showing one of the raiders breaking into a cabinet has also emerged, but it is by no means clear enough to identify him.

One of the men is seen wearing full motorbike kit, including a crash helmet, while another is in a yellow vest high-vis jacket.

The image was captured by a security guard’s mobile phone while the Louvre’s official security cameras were failing to cover the window the thieves used to break in.

Speaking for the first time since the heist, Louvre director Laurence des Cars, 59, offered her resignation for the embarrassing failure which allowed the four raiders to strike. However, it was refused by Rachida Dati, the Culture Minister. Ms Des Cars said: “The only camera installed is directed westward and therefore did not cover the balcony involved in the break-in. There are some perimeter cameras, but they are ageing.

“Despite our efforts, despite our hard work every day, we were defeated. We did not detect the thieves’ arrival early enough.”

On Wednesday (October 23), Ms Des Cars was grilled by Senators, particularly over how a flatbed truck with an extendible ladder had been able to park in the wrong direction on the pavement directly outside the Louvre. It made a U-turn on a three-lane one-way street by the Seine and was used by the gang to get up to the first floor of the museum.

They carried out the raid in just seven minutes, breaking open two cabinets containing eight pieces of Napoleonic jewellery described as “France’s crown jewels.” Ms Des Cars explained that the pieces were not insured because of the massive cost of premiums.

Among them is the Eugénie Crown, which was found broken and discarded by the thieves below the Louvre window.
Made in 1855, the Second Empire piece is adorned with thousands of diamonds and emeralds. It is named after Eugénie de Montijo, who became Empress of the French following her marriage to Napoleon III in 1853.

The raid happened between 9.20am and 9.27am before management chose to shut the Louvre down for three days. The world’s most-visited museum, also home to the Mona Lisa painting, reopened to visitors on Wednesday.