Frustration mounted among visitors on Monday as the Louvre Museum, the world’s most-visited museum, remained closed for a second day following a dramatic daylight jewel heist.
Crowds gathered outside the museum’s iconic glass pyramid, pressing against locked iron gates in hopes of entering. The Louvre had been scheduled to open at 9 a.m. local time, just one day after masked robbers made off with several priceless jewels and fled on scooters.
But disappointment spread quickly when officials announced that the museum would stay shut for another day.
“It’s my birthday, it was my gift, and I’ve wanted to come for years, so I’m a bit upset,” said Elisa Valentino, 31, a visitor from Italy, wiping away tears.
“I studied art — this was the only thing I had planned for my trip to Paris, and I’m leaving tomorrow.”
Other tourists echoed her frustration. Jesslyn Ehlers, 38, from the United States, said she and her husband had checked online before coming but found no notice of the closure.
“We were excited to show up,” she said. “We’re just kind of disappointed — we’ve been planning this for a long time.”
The Louvre confirmed that visitors who booked same-day tickets would receive refunds, though for many, the closure was a bigger emotional loss than financial.
Adam Cooke, 65, visiting from London, said he and his wife would miss their only chance to see the museum’s vast collection, which includes the Mona Lisa.
“We’ll be refunded, but that’s not the point,” he said.
Seven-Minute Heist
The Louvre, alongside the Eiffel Tower, is one of Paris’s top attractions, drawing nearly nine million visitors last year. The shock closure followed an audacious heist on Sunday, when thieves stole eight priceless jewels, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace once gifted by Napoleon I to Empress Marie-Louise.
The burglars reportedly entered through a window near the museum’s Apollo Gallery using a ladder and cutting tools, breaking into display cases before escaping within seven minutes. They dropped a ninth artifact — the crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III — which was later recovered, damaged.
“It’s amazing that the heist happened in broad daylight. That’s obviously very unfortunate and embarrassing,” said Cooke.
For many, the incident raised concerns about the museum’s security.
“It’s unimaginable that someone could steal something from the Louvre,” said Sissi Liu, 39, a tourist from China.
Andreea Dumitras, 17, from Moldova, added: “What’s most frustrating is how weak the security seems to be. Someone from security told me it’s not even certain the museum will reopen soon.”
The Louvre has yet to confirm when it will reopen to the public as police continue their investigation into what many have called one of France’s most daring cultural thefts in recent history.
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Source: Vietnam Insider