French authorities are investigating after a robbery at the Louvre museum in Paris saw a group of thieves get away with "priceless" jewellery on moped this morning. Large numbers of tourists who wanted to see the Mona Lisa had their plans thwarted, after the Louvre said it would stay closed for "exceptional reasons".

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.

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

The thieves who robbed Paris' Louvre museum on Sunday made off with eight priceless objects, with a ninth that they tried to steal recovered at the scene, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.

A manhunt is under way for a gang of thieves who carried out a broad daylight raid on Paris's Louvre Museum and stole jewels described as priceless. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said it took just minutes for the masked suspects to carry out the burglary on Sunday morning, shortly after the museum opened to visitors.

The Louvre, a former royal palace that was transformed into a museum after the French Revolution, is a cultural calling card for France that attracts throngs of tourists every day and houses more than 33,000 works of art in a labyrinth of wings and courtyards.

Paris authorities are exploring an organized crime theory after masked robbers stole French jewels from the Louvre over the weekend in a 7-minute heist.

Masked thieves stole priceless jewels from the Louvre on Sunday morning. The Paris museum has suffered a string of successful art heists, dating back to the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911.

Thieves allegedly broke into Paris' Louvre museum through a window, stealing "priceless" items of jewelry before escaping on motorbikes.

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.