French television broadcasts footage of the Louvre Museum robbery, showing thieves breaking display cases as staff evacuate visitors
PARIS: Footage of the spectacular robbery at the Louvre Museum has been broadcast for the first time on French television.
The images, filmed by surveillance cameras, were shown by the TF1 and public France Televisions channels on Sunday evening, three months after the break-in in October.
They show two burglars, one wearing a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, the other dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet, forcing their way into the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking in through a reinforced window with high-powered disk cutters, they begin slicing into display cases under the eyes of several staff members who do not intervene.
Managers at the Louvre have stressed that staff are not trained to confront thieves and are asked to prioritise the evacuation of visitors.
During the roughly four minutes that the two men were inside the gallery, one staff member can be seen holding a bollard used to orient visitors, according to France Televisions.
The images form a key part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the October 19 heist.
Four suspects are in police custody, including the two suspected thieves, but the eight stolen items of French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million have not been found.
The security failures highlighted by the break-in on a Sunday morning in broad daylight have led to major pressure on director Laurence des Cars, who has apologised.
Metal bars have since been installed over the windows of the Apollo Gallery.
