Staggering value of jewels stolen in stunning Louvre museum heist revealed

The heist took place over the weekend

Just after the museum opened on Sunday (19 October), four thieves broke into the Louvre’s Apollo gallery and took eight pieces of Napoleonic jewellery.

The thieves then disappeared from the scene, almost as quickly as they arrived, on the back of electric scooters.

The heist took just seven minutes to complete, leaving security forces completely baffled, and it appears as though local authorities are no closer to identifying the gang behind the heist.

As the French Republic begin to come to terms with the shocking loss of so much cultural heritage, a French prosector has made a public statement on the true monetary value of the stolen items.

Speaking to French outlet RTL, Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau started out by making clear how the cultural loss of the historic items — that include a tiara and earrings from the set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense — far outweigh their market value.

Mrs Beccuau said: "It is important to remember that this damage is an economic damage, but it is nothing compared to the historical damage caused by this theft.

“The Louvre curator estimated the damages to be 88 million euros."

That €88 million works out at close to £76.6 million.

Despite the mass concentration of press attention focused on the Louvre in the past week, the museum's Director Laurence des Cars is yet to make any public statement.

This is set to change later on Wednesday however, when Des Cars will appear before the French Senate’s culture committee where he is expected to answer questions on how potential flaws within the Louvre's security system that may have allowed the heist to succeed undetected.