Louvre reopens 3 days after thieves took French crown jewels in daylight heist

PARIS: The Louvre reopened Wednesday morning to crowds under its glass pyramid — even as France reeled from one of the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory just days earlier at the famed museum.

The smash-and-grab that unfolded just 250 metres from the Mona Lisa and has prompted a national reckoning, with some officials comparing the shock to the 2019 burning of Notre-Dame cathedral.

Hundreds queued outside as barriers came down, a visible coda to three days of forensic work, inspections and staff briefings. Tuesday's closure was routine; the museum is normally shut that day.

However, the scene of the heist — the jewel-lined Apollo Room—stayed shuttered.

Authorities say the gang spent less than four minutes inside the Louvre. Using a freight lift wheeled to the Seine-facing