The Louvre Museum reopened its Apollo Gallery on Wednesday, nine months after thieves pulled off a daring heist of about $102 million worth of crown jewels. But visitors returning to the gallery will notice one major change: jewels are no longer on display. Instead, they will be exhibited elsewhere in the museum in a more secure location, Louvre director Christophe Leribault told Reuters. The Apollo Gallery, created under the young King Louis XIV, inspired the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. The decision followed an October robbery in which two men used a movers’ lift to reach a second-story window in broad daylight, smashed their way inside, cracked open display cases with angle grinders, and escaped on scooters driven by two accomplices. The raid lasted less than seven minutes. The stolen jewels remain missing, except a crown belonging to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, that was found damaged near the Paris museum and is undergoing restoration. Four people suspected of direct involvement have been charged and placed in custody. Culture Minister Catherine Pegard called the robbery a “trauma for the whole world” and vowed to ramp up security at museums nationwide.
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