Louvre thieves' slow-motion escape using furniture lift caught on video
Footage showing two men appears to have been filmed from nearby window in museum
A video has emerged capturing the slow-motion getaway of two thieves from the Louvre, clutching €88 million (£76 million) worth of France's crown jewels — the latest dramatic twist in one of the country's most spectacular heists in decades.
The 36-second clip, verified by Le Parisien, shows two men dressed in black — one wearing a yellow hi-vis vest and the other a motorcycle helmet — descending slowly on a furniture lift from the museum's Apollo Gallery, The Guardian reported.
The footage appears to have been filmed from a nearby museum window overlooking Quai François Mitterrand, where the thieves had earlier parked a stolen truck equipped with a 30-metre (90ft) extendable ladder and basket lift used to reach the first-floor gallery.
"The individuals are on scooters," a voice — possibly that of a security guard — is heard saying into a walkie-talkie. "They are going to leave, they are going to leave." Moments later, the two men ride off on scooters.
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"They are leaving," the male voice repeats, as another exclaims, "Damn, there we go – the police."
According to reports, two of the four-man gang broke into the gallery at 9:30am last Sunday, shortly after opening hours, by smashing an unsecured window and using disc cutters to open two display cases.
They made off with eight pieces, including an emerald and diamond necklace gifted by Napoleon I to his second wife, Marie Louise, and a diadem that once belonged to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
French media estimate the entire operation lasted under seven minutes, with the burglars inside the gallery for just 3 minutes and 58 seconds. France's interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, has confirmed that over 100 investigators are working on the case.
Questioned by senators on Wednesday, Louvre director Laurence des Cars admitted a "terrible failure," acknowledging that the museum had "highly insufficient" security camera coverage along its exterior walls.
