Eight 'priceless' treasures stolen in Louvre raid identified as French police reveal details of 'heist of the decade'
The suspected thieves reportedly escaped on a motor-scooter through the streets of Paris.
A gang of chainsaw-wielding thieves have broken into France's iconic Louvre museum, stealing eight pieces of "priceless" Napoleon-era jewellery in the process.
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Multiple masked men broke into the museum on Sunday morning before opening time and plucked jewels from display cases in a heist that lasted seven minutes.
The French culture ministry has since named the stolen items, which included a tiara, necklace and earring from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense.
The robbers also stole an emerald necklace, a pair of emerald earrings and a brooch known as the "reliquary brooch" from the Empress Marie Louise set, as well as the tiara and a large corsage bow of Empress Eugenie.
A ninth item was also stolen but recovered at the Louvre, the Paris prosecutor said.
The robbers used a mechanised list against the side of the building before breaking a window into the Apollo Gallery.
After stealing the eight items, they fled the Louvre on motorbikes.
The men, suspected to be three or four in number, then jumped onto a motor scooter to escape.
Members of the public appeared to be locked inside following the robbery as police sweep the galleries.
French culture minister Rachida Dati said she was on-site with "museum teams and police" investigating the robbery at one the world's most famous museums.
"No injuries to report," she confirmed on social media.
Musée du Louvre confirmed the closure on X, writing "the Museum will remain closed today for exceptional reasons".
French interior minister Laurent Nunez described the items stolen as "priceless."
"They broke a window and went towards several display cases where they stole jewellery," he said.
"These are jewels that have genuine heritage value and are, in fact, priceless."
The museum is home to some of history's most iconic works of art.
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the ancient Greek sculpture Venus de Milo, and the Hellenistic sculpture Winged Victory of Samothrace can be found in the Parisian gallery.