Could Napoleon loot be lost FOREVER? Key questions in 7min Louvre heist after brazen gang even dropped CROWN in getaway

French police are desperately trying to piece together the case and discover exactly how the Louvre raid was pulled off.

The gang – described as a “highly organised commando unit” made up of four – were last seen disappearing on two Yamaha mopeds through the French capital.

They got away with priceless pieces including a tiara, necklaces and brooches that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte’s family.

Another item – the crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie – was reportedly recovered from outside the window after it had been dropped.

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A lack of CCTV cameras, easily smashed display cabinets and a severely lacking security plan have all been confirmed as issues.

France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin glumly announced on Monday: “We failed and presented a deplorable image of France.”

As new Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged Sunday highlighted a “major weak spot” in the museum’s security.

Several questions still remain over one of the biggest heists in a century with a hunt for answers set to continue until all the items are safely recovered.

It comes amid serious fears that the jewels could soon be sold off around the globe to rich untouchables via the black market where they will likely never be seen again.

How did they get in?

Officials have confirmed a number of details around how the gang broke into the world famous Louvre.

They are said to have parked up near to the museum before heading over to a truck equipped with an elevating platform often used by removal companies.

Just after 9:30am, they raised the platform to gain access to the Gallery of Apollo via a balcony close to the River Seine.

The dark truck was pictured outside the Louvre with a mounted ladder on top which was leaning against the first-floor balcony.

From here, two of the thieves cut through glass panes with a battery-powered disc cutter and entered the museum.

Justice Minister Darmanin was forced to concede on Monday that the windows were too easily broken in to for such an iconic and wealthy museum.

A third criminal then entered the building through the broken window as a fourth reportedly stood look-out.

Investigators are still scouring any CCTV footage they can find to confirm the men’s movements on the day.

Several questions remain over their breaking and entering such as how much planning went into the attack and if they had any further help from inside the museum.

Why wasn’t security tighter?

As with almost any high-scale raid, questions are immediately asked about the security operation and why it failed when it mattered.

In a statement, France’s culture ministry said the alarms inside the Louvre had sounded correctly when the glass cabinets were smashed into.

Justice Minister Darmanin conceded that the windows and display cabinets were too easily broken into.

Five museum staff who were closest to the gallery followed protocol by getting in contact with security forces and protecting all the visitors.

No one was injured in the museum attack, cops confirmed.

But security guards failed to confront the gang and allowed them to pull out almost every step of their plan.

All of the security on hand are said to have ran away from the scene after being threatened with angle-grinders and chainsaws from the gang.

Police also didn’t manage to react to the alarm in time and make any arrests.

A leaked report by France’s auditing watchdog – the Cours des Comptes – has now revealed “consistent and persistent delays” in bringing security up to date in the world’s most visited art museum.

Two recent museum thefts in France had already alerted the authorities to the growing threat of art gangs.

A security plan had been drawn up by the culture ministry but so far, has only been gradually put into effect across France.

Why did they do it in broad daylight in front of thousands?

The thieves arrived just after 9:30am local time, shortly after the museum opened to the public half-an-hour earlier, a source close to the investigation confirmed.

Thousands were already inside at the time with the queues to get in growing minute-by-minute.

For many, such a daring heist would often be done under the cover of darkness when the museum is all but empty.

The more people inside means the higher chance of something going wrong despite the meticulous planning.

A civilian could get in harm’s way or one could even step in to stop the robbery even taking place.

Even someone getting out their camera and filming the criminals could have serious consequences.

But the Louvre fiends clearly thought out the smash and grab and decided an early morning robbery was the perfect time.

Has the Louvre been targeted before?

SUNDAY’S robbery is far from the first time France’s most well-known museum has been targeted.

Farewell Mona Lisa

On August 11, 1911, the Mona Lisa became the focus of one of the most audacious robberies of the 20th century.

Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian immigrant who had briefly worked at the museum, walked into the Louvre unchallenged dressed in his old work uniform.

Peruggia took the painting off the wall and walked out with it under his top.

No one noticed for 24 hours as workers believed it had been moved for conservation or photography.

A year of robberies

1976 saw multiple strikes by gangs inside the Louvre.

In January, burglars pinched a Flemish painting from the museum.

In December of the same year, masked men burgled a jeweled sword once owned by French King Charles X.

They accessed the museum from a second-floor scaffold with the sword yet to be recovered.

A decade of security blunders

The 1990s saw another three thefts take place within the museum’s walls.

In 1990, thieves took a small Renoir painting as they cut it from its frame in broad daylight.

Along 12 pieces of ancient Roman jewellery and a few other paintings were also taken.

Five years later, two objects were stolen in a single week and prompted a major security increase.

It ultimately proved fruitless as in 1998, a Camille Corot painting was cut from its frame and disappeared.

It has yet to be recovered.

How did they manage to make a clean getaway?

Seven minutes after breaking into the Louvre, the hardened criminals were already making their way out.

Despite an annual operating budget of £280million, a third of rooms in the Louvre’s Denton Wing – where the burglary took place – had no cameras at all.

A blurry image showing one of the raiders breaking into a cabinet has emerged, but it is by no means clear enough to identify him.

The “highly organised commando unit” escaped the frantic situation seemingly undeterred as they made their way to two waiting mopeds outside.

It remains unclear exactly how they exited the museum despite the heavy security presence.

The gang also tried to set fire to a vehicle outside but were prevented by the intervention of a museum staff-member, the ministry said.

They disappeared through the French capital and are believed to have headed for the A6 motorway.

The 60 investigators working on the case are continuing to search for any signs of the thieves once they left the Louvre.

No further detail about the escape plan has been revealed with French cops confirming they have made no arrests so far.

All four suspected criminals – along with any number of co-conspirators – remain at large and could by now be hundreds of miles away from Paris.

Could the artefacts be lost forever?

Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, described the criminals as a “strike team” who could well of been working with a collector in the black market.

If true, the team would likely have been paid to conduct the raid by a national or foreign individual who ordered the pieces.

The Louvre is most well-known for housing the legendary Mona Lisa within its grand walls.

And the gang even entered the gallery next to the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece but decided to steer clear of the painting.

This is likely to be because of the cash value of lesser known jewels.

Anyone who steals the Mona Lisa will have an almost impossible time finding a buyer due to the significance of such artwork.

List of looted treasures

THESE are the eight “priceless” pieces of jewellery stolen in the smash-and-grab raid on the Louvre museum in Paris.

Tiara from the set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense

• Necklace from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense

• Earring, from the pair belonging to the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense

• Emerald necklace from the Empress Marie Louise set

• Pair of emerald earrings from the Empress Marie Louise set

• Brooch known as the “reliquary brooch”

• Tiara of Empress Eugenie

• Large corsage bow brooch of Empress Eugenie.

Another item – the crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie – was reportedly recovered from outside the window but broken.

Another major issue is that the value of a Mona Lisa-style painting is in its full undamaged form – meaning it is far harder to hide and smuggle around the globe.

So robbers often prefer items that can be broken up, melted or made smaller which can also be converted into cash – mainly jewels.

Things like crowns and diamonds can easily be broken apart and sold in several bits.

The final price might drop significantly compared to the entire historical jewel but it allows for a safer and easier transaction.

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If the Louvre’s famous artefacts are already in a safe house then it is possible that they have already been cut up, melted down or even sold in full.

This would ultimately make them far harder to track down.