LYON: Armed thieves stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry from the work of famous Parisian goldsmith Joseph Chaumet and classified a national treasure in a brazen heist at a French museum.
Thieves on motorcycles arrived at the Heron Museum in Paray-le-Monial in central France at around 4pm (1500 GMT) on Thursday.
Mayor Jean-Marc Nesmi said three people entered the building while one stood guard outside.
The group fired several shots before heading to the museum’s Star Gallery, a three-meter (10-foot) artwork created in 1904 that depicts the life of Christ in precious metals, jewelry and ivory.
The city’s mayor, Nesma, said on Friday that the statue known as “Via Vitae” has been classified by the French Ministry of Culture as a national treasure, and its value is estimated at seven million euros ($7.3 million).
The intruders cut the armored glass protecting the piece with an electric tool before removing gold and ivory statues and emerald decorations from the piece.
The giant piece consists of 138 shapes encrusted with diamonds and rubies and inlaid with various shades of marble and alabaster.
As they fled on their motorcycles, the gang planted nails across the road to block two pursuing cars, police said.
“It is a great loss for Paray-le-Monial and the national heritage,” said the mayor of Paray-le-Monial.
He added that the employees and about 20 visitors who were present on the ground floor of the museum were “shocked” due to the violent intrusion.
The Heron Museum, one of the oldest museums of sacred art in France, had previously been attacked by thieves.
Two golden crowns were stolen in 2017, while another theft attempt occurred in 2022.
Thursday’s theft came a day after several valuables, including ornate snuff boxes, were stolen from a museum in central Paris.
The daylight robbery saw thieves break into a display case with axes and baseball bats in full view of visitors and staff at the Cognacq-Jay Museum.