Paris, 19 October 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Jewellery stolen on Sunday morning from the Louvre museum in Paris is of "invaluable cultural and historical significance" beyond its market value, the French ministries of culture and interior said.

The thieves entered the museum at around 9:30 am (0730 GMT) by breaking a window, the ministries stated. Inside, they stole jewellery from display cases and fled on motorbikes.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati said the thieves needed just four minutes to secure their haul. "These are professionals," she told broadcaster TF1 after viewing video surveillance material.

"They do not attack anyone. They enter quite calmly. In four minutes, they wreck display cases, seize their haul and disappear without using any force," Dati said. 

Dati contradicted earlier reports describing the thieves as robbers, which implies the use of force, saying the crime was a case of theft.

"The haul is of course of inestimable value. It's jewels that were stolen," she said. Dati added that the thieves had dropped one of the pieces of jewellery, which had been secured and was being investigated.

The Le Parisien newspaper reported on the basis of police information that nine items from the collection of Napoleon and his empress had been stolen, including a necklace, a brooch and a diadem.

It reported further that there had been panic among museum visitors, who were trapped for a period of time after the doors closed when the alarm went off. The ministries reported that evacuation had proceeded smoothly and that no one had been injured.

Le Parisien said masked thieves entered through a side door where construction work was ongoing. They used a goods lift to gain access to the museum room in the Galerie d'Apollon.

After breaking the window with a tool, two men entered as the third stood guard outside, media reports said.

They then made their escape on two motorcycles.

The museum had been open for around 30 minutes when the theft occurred. Investigations are under way and a detailed list of the stolen items is currently being compiled, the ministries said.

For security reasons and to preserve evidence for the investigation, the museum has been closed.

"The Musée du Louvre will remain closed today for exceptional reasons," the museum posted on its X page, without mentioning the heist.

All available resources are being deployed to recover the stolen items. Dati and new Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who until recently served as Paris police chief, were present at the museum with investigators.

The Louvre is the world's most visited museum with almost 9 million visitors last year. Some 20,000 go to see Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa every day.