The Louvre values ​​the jewels stolen from the museum at 88 million euros.

The Louvre Museum has estimated the haul of jewels and damage caused by the four thieves who made off with eight pieces from the Napoleon and Empress collection last Sunday at 88 million euros, according to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

The prosecutor confirmed that investigators have fingerprints that may belong to the four attackers , who possibly had the support of "various teams that helped them carry out the robbery." Beccuau cautioned that she could not answer with a "yes or no" answer to the question about alleged complicity within the museum staff.

Beccuau also considered that the attackers "will never obtain that considerable sum" of 88 million if they decide to melt or dismantle the objects. "Perhaps we can hope that they will think about this and not wantonly destroy these jewels."

The president of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, tendered her resignation following the theft of Napoleon and the Empress's jewels last Sunday, but Emmanuel Macron rejected her resignation, according to Le Figaro . "Stand firm, we cannot break the dynamic of the museum's renewal," the French president told her in that conversation. Now the museum director will have to face the appearance scheduled for this Wednesday before the deputies of the National Assembly.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati assured Parliament that "the Louvre's security measures worked," despite the spectacular robbery that occurred on Sunday morning, when four hooded men managed to steal eight jewels from the Napoleon and Empress collection in seven minutes, entering through an exterior window with the help of a freight elevator in the Apollo Gallery. An audit by the French Court of Auditors had also previously warned the institution of security problems.

"I want to reestablish some truths about the events," Dati warned during Question Time with the Government in the National Assembly. "Were the Louvre's security measures defective?" she wondered aloud, before answering with a resounding "no." The responsibility for what happened, according to the minister, lies with "the forty years of neglect regarding museum security."

"This incident has been a blow to all of us, because the Louvre Museum is the showcase of French culture and represents our shared heritage," the minister stressed. The Louvre Museum, meanwhile, has responded to reports revealed by Le Canard Enchaîné , which stated that the display cases protecting the jewels were replaced six years ago and were more fragile than the previous ones - the attackers used a glass cutter to steal the jewels. " The display cases installed in 2019 represented a considerable improvement in terms of security, given the proven degree of obsolescence of the old equipment ," the museum stressed in a statement, also noting that "had they not been replaced," these display cases "would have led to the works being removed from public view."

Investigators from the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC) have so far recovered a helmet and a glove worn by the four perpetrators of the robbery at the Louvre Museum , Le Parisien reports. Investigators have also contacted the owner of the van equipped with a forklift that the assailants used to directly access the Apollo Gallery. The owner had advertised the van for sale on the Leboncoin website and claimed to have met with the alleged buyers, only to be assaulted and the vehicle stolen without paying the agreed-upon amount.