Three days after robbery, Louvre reopens for tourists

Paris' prestigious museum 'The Louvre' opened this morning, four days after the biggest theft it experienced on Sunday. After the incident resulting in the loss of Napoleonic-era jewellery valued at more than $100 million (88 million Euros), the Apollo Room, the scene of the heist, is temporarily shut. The seven-minute heist, executed by four masked thieves, used a mechanical lift mounted on a truck to access the jewels and also employed power tools to break glass. Once the alarm went off, they absconded on their bikes. According to many, the stolen jewels may already have been melted down. Specialised Paris police unit known as BRB, which deals with high-profile robberies, is handling the case. 

New measures at Louvre
The government had announced an overhaul in the Louvre's security measures earlier this year. They included a new command post and a camera network. However, reports suggest that they were delayed, as the understaffed museum security struggled to handle the swelling crowds. Apparently, following the incident, the authorities are planning to modernise the museum's CCTV coverage and also provide the staff with advanced security training. The 2006 Hindi film Dhoom 2, starring Hrithik Roshan, has a museum theft in which the robber disguises himself as a statue. Many netizens are drawing parallels between the Louvre theft and the scene from the movie, after the incident. 

Stolen objects
The gang robbed a sapphire diadem, an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, a necklace and a single earring from a set linked to French queens Marie Amlie and Hortense, a reliquary brooch and Empress Eugnie's diadem and corsage-bow brooch.