French authorities are hunting a suspected foreign crime gang after a seven-minute daylight heist at the Louvre left nine priceless jewels missing and renewed concerns over museum security.

Thieves broke into the Louvre, one of the world's most famous museums, using a crane to smash an upstairs window.

PARIS (Reuters) -A jewellery heist at Paris' Louvre museum has cast France in a "deplorable" light, Justice Minister Gerard Darmanin said on Monday as opposition politicians criticised the government for what they branded a national humiliation.

PARIS, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Louvre Museum in Paris remained closed on Monday "for exceptional reasons," according to an announcement on the museum's website. The closure came a day after thieves stole some of France's priceless crown jewels from the museum in a daytime raid, dropping a gem-encrusted crown on the run, police said.

Visitors were asked to leave Paris Louvre after reports of a robbery at the museum. Video Credit: Monica Louvre Museum Guided Tour/ @LouvreGuide via X

One of the most infamous heists in the cultural institution’s history was the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa—when Pablo Picasso numbered among the suspects.

It took seven minutes for thieves to execute a brazen daylight heist at the famed Louvre museum. Here's how they did it

Louvre heist happened during the morning hours with robbers entering through the windows a few minutes after the museum opened to the visitors.

(WMTW) - Paris’s Louvre museum is now closed after a major robbery of priceless jewelry and according to our Portland media partner, 29 Mainers saw it unfold. France’s interior minister told radio station France Inter the suspects stole jewelry from the room that houses the french crown jewels.

Thieves broke into the Louvre in Paris — the world's most visited museum — early Sunday morning. Museum officials said they stole jewelry and fled.