PARIS (AP) — A daring heist unfolded at the Louvre on Sunday, as thieves executed a swift and audacious robbery at the world-renowned museum. Using a basket lift to scale the building’s facade, they broke through a window, smashed display cases, and made off with valuable Napoleonic jewels, according to officials.

The brazen theft, which occurred just 30 minutes after the museum opened to the public, took place with visitors already present. It has quickly become one of the most notable museum thefts in recent memory. The incident has sparked discussions about the challenges posed by overcrowding and understaffing, which museum staff have argued are compromising security measures.

The heist happened a mere 250 meters (270 yards) from the iconic Mona Lisa. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati labeled the operation as highly professional, with the entire theft taking only four minutes to complete.

Among the stolen artifacts was the emerald-set imperial crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, which boasts over 1,300 diamonds. Authorities later found the crown outside the museum, albeit in a broken state.

Images from the scene captured the confusion among tourists who were being directed out of the museum’s glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards, as police cordoned off nearby streets along the Seine river.

The thieves’ entry via a lift, which they brought to the site and subsequently removed, has highlighted a significant security vulnerability. Observers noted the troubling ease with which such equipment was brought to the palace-museum without detection.

A museum already under strain

Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the glass display cases, officials said. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift via the riverfront facade to reach the hall with the 23-item royal collection.

Their target was the gilded Apollon Gallery, where the Crown Diamonds are displayed, including the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia.

The thieves smashed two display cases and fled on motorbikes, Nunez said. No one was hurt. Alarms brought Louvre agents to the room, forcing the intruders to bolt, but the theft was already done.

Eight objects were taken, according to officials: a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a reliquary brooch; Empress Eugénie’s diadem; and her large corsage-bow brooch — a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble.

“It’s a major robbery,” Nunez said, noting that security measures at the Louvre had been strengthened in recent years and would be reinforced further as part of the museum’s upcoming overhaul plan. Officials said security upgrades include new-generation cameras, perimeter detection, and a new security control room. But critics say the measures come far too late.

The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday for the forensic investigation to begin as police sealed gates, cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the Seine.

Daylight robberies during public hours are rare. Pulling one off inside the Louvre with visitors present ranks among Europe’s most audacious in recent history, and at least since Dresden’s Green Vault museum in 2019.

It also collides with a deeper tension the Louvre has struggled to resolve: swelling crowds and stretched staff. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions say mass tourism leaves too few eyes on too many rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones, freight routes and visitor flows meet.

Security around marquee works remains tight — the Mona Lisa sits behind bulletproof glass in a climate-controlled case — but Sunday’s theft also underscored that protections are not uniformly as robust across the museum’s more than 33,000 objects.

The theft is a fresh embarrassment for a museum already under scrutiny.

“How can they ride a lift to a window and take jewels in the middle of the day?” said Magali Cunel, a French teacher from near Lyon. “It’s just unbelievable that a museum this famous can have such obvious security gaps.”

The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered two years later in Florence. Another notorious episode came in 1956, when a visitor hurled a stone at her world-famous smile, chipping paint near her left elbow and hastening the move to display the work behind protective glass.

Today the former royal palace holds a roll call of civilization: Leonardo’s Mona Lisa; the armless serenity of the Venus de Milo; the Winged Victory of Samothrace, wind-lashed on the Daru staircase; the Code of Hammurabi’s carved laws; Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People; Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. The objects — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to Europe’s masters — draw a daily tide of up to 30,000 visitors even as investigators now begin to sweep those gilded corridors for clues.

Politics at the door

The heist spilled instantly into politics. Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used it to attack President Emmanuel Macron, weakened at home and facing a fractured parliament.

“The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture,” Bardella wrote on X. “This robbery, which allowed thieves to steal jewels from the French Crown, is an unbearable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the state go?”

The criticism lands as Macron touts a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — about €700 million ($760 million) to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031. For workers on the floor, the relief has felt slower than the pressure.

What we know — and don’t

Forensic teams are examining the site of the crime and adjoining access points while a full inventory is taken, authorities said. Officials have described the haul as of “inestimable” historical value.

Recovery may prove difficult. “It’s unlikely these jewels will ever be seen again,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds. “Professional crews often break down and re-cut large, recognizable stones to evade detection, effectively erasing their provenance.”

Key questions still unanswered are how many people took part in the theft and whether they had inside assistance, authorities said. According to French media, there were four perpetrators: two dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests on the lift, and two each on a scooter. French authorities did not immediately comment on this.

Investigators are reviewing CCTV from the Denon wing and the riverfront, inspecting the basket lift used to reach the gallery and interviewing staff who were on site when the museum opened, authorities said.

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Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.