Paris was stunned on a balmy Sunday morning as three or four chainsaw-wielding robbers made their way to The Louvre Museum unscathed and made off with nine pieces of 'priceless' Napoleon-era jewellery collection, in just four minutes. The shocking, yet brazen daylight heist, carried out at the world's most visited museum, had stunned even authorities who were caught off-guard.

Speaking to France Inter radio, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the incident as a "major robbery" and said the stolen jewels were of "inestimable value". According to him, the thieves used a basket lift to reach the museum's windows and gained entry by cutting the panes with a disc cutter to enter the Apollo Gallery, a room where the French Crown Jewels are kept.

The robbers committed the act around 9:30

See Full Page