Topline
The Louvre Museum in Paris reopened its Apollo Gallery on Wednesday, more than nine months after it was the site of an audacious heist that saw a group of thieves steal more than $100 million worth of French crown jewels from the location.
Visitors take a picture of a window at the reopened Apollo Gallery which was broken to carry out last year’s heist at the Louvre.
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Key Facts
According to Agence France-Presse, no jewels will be on display at the Apollo Gallery, which will revert to its original 17th-century ceremonial role as a “state gallery.”
Visitors to the gallery will be able to view its gilded ceilings and walls, sculptures and frescoes, but the jewels and their display cases have been removed.
The museum’s director Christophe Leribault told Le Parisien newspaper that the remaining jewels will be held in a “secure room, a vault with no windows, in another part of the museum.”
Leribault took over as director last year after his predecessor resigned following the October heist and is now overseeing a $1 billion renovation of the historic museum.
According to the Associated Press, authorities have boosted security at the museum after the heist by adding new surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems.
What Do We Know About The Heist?
In October last year, a group of thieves used a basket lift (or cherry picker) to break into the museum and steal French crown jewelry from the Apollo Gallery before escaping on scooters. Authorities said the total value of the stolen goods is estimated to be around €88 million euros, or $100 million. Stolen items included a pearl tiara and corsage-bow brooch belonging to Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie. Necklaces and jewelry owned by other French queens, including Empress Marie Louise, Marie-Amélie, and Hortense Bonaparte.
Visitors arrive during the reopening to the public of the Apollo Gallery.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Visitors arrive during the reopening to the public of the Apollo Gallery.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
No jewels were in display at the Apollo gallery as a result of last year’s audacious heist.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Louvre’s President Christophe Leribault and France’s Culture Minister Catherine Pegard open the door to mark the reopening to the public of the Apollo Gallery.
AFP or licensors
France’s Culture Minister Catherine Pegard attends the reopening to the public of the Apollo Gallery.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
further reading
Paris Prosecutor: Stolen Louvre Jewels Worth $102 Million (Forbes)
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