A daring daylight heist at Paris’s Louvre Museum saw thieves steal priceless jewels, forcing the museum to close as police investigate.

More than 25 years before Sunday's heist at the iconic museum, a thief took a 19th-century painting in broad daylight.

Video shows one of the suspected Louvre jewel thieves brazenly cutting through a glass case using a mini chainsaw before making off with the loot during Sunday’s heist at the Paris

The BBC spoke to Chris Marinello, the CEO of Art Recovery International, who said that if the thieves aren't apprehended in 24 to 48 hours, the stolen jewels will likely not be found.

"The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture," Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally party, wrote on X. "This heist, which allowed thieves to steal the Crown Jewels of France, is an intolerable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the State go?"

Precious artifacts snatched from Paris’s Louvre Museum Sunday include an emerald necklace set among more than 1,000 diamonds gifted by Napoleon to his second wife and other treasures of “inestimable” value.

Thieves at the Louvre museum stole eight items of "incalcuable" value from a collection of French crown jewels, including items belonging to Empress Eugénie, Queen Hortense and more