Authorities were racing Monday to reassure the public about security at key cultural sites — and find the jewels stolen from the museum before they can be broken up and melted down.

The Louvre remained closed Monday after thieves stole priceless Napoleonic jewels in a daring daylight heist that lasted less than eight minutes. Thieves used a basket lift to scale the museum’s facade, forced a window and smashed display cases, fleeing with eight historic jewels.

L ONDON -- As the alarms sounded at the Louvre Museum on Sunday morning, four suspects took off on two motorbikes, winding their way through central Paris, allegedly carrying with them a haul of "priceless" jewelry once worn by queens and made of sapphire, diamonds and emeralds.

Jewels stolen from Paris’ Louvre Museum in a daring heist include a crown worn by Empress Eugenie, a brooch of Empress Eugenie, and a crown worn by Queen Marie-Amelie.

The Louvre said it would remain closed Monday after historic jewels were stolen in a daring daylight heist the day before.

The Louvre Museum in Paris remains closed to the public after robbers stole imperial jewels in broad daylight on Sunday.

The precious artifacts snatched from Paris’s Louvre Museum on Sunday include an emerald necklace gifted by Napolean to his second wife and other priceless crown jewels.

In a brazen seven-minute robbery, thieves disguised as construction workers looted eight priceless royal jewels from Paris’s Louvre Museum in broad daylight, exposing major lapses in museum security.