Thieves steal around €4 million in jewellery from French museum
Approximately 20 pieces of jewellery worth about €4 million were stolen in a burglary at the Lalique museum in northeastern France early Sunday morning.
A burglary at the Lalique museum in Wingen-sur-Moder, northeastern France, took place around 5:30 am on Sunday, according to the company and an investigation source. The thief or thieves headed straight for the jewellery room. About twenty pieces of jewellery were stolen, with losses currently estimated at several million euros, likely close to four million.
The museum announced on its website that it will be closed for several days due to the burglary. The investigation source added that an alarm went off, but by the time the security company had completed its checks, a cleaning lady arrived first and called the police. CCTV footage is now being examined.
The museum, dedicated to Art Nouveau and Art Deco jeweller and glassmaker René Lalique, opened in 2011 near the company's factory. This incident follows a dramatic daytime jewel heist at the Louvre museum in Paris last October, where thieves made off with $102 million worth of jewellery in less than eight minutes, putting security at French museums under scrutiny.
