Valuable jewelry pieces worth millions of euros were stolen from the Lalique Museum in the Alsace region of France, near the German border, resulting in an investigation.
According to initial reports, the incident occurred on July 5 in the early morning hours around 05:30. Several unidentified individuals with covered faces entered the museum and went directly to the hall where jewelry items were on display. They broke the glass of six exhibition cases and took approximately 20 rare jewelry pieces belonging to the renowned French jeweler and glassware master René Lalique. The total value of the stolen artifacts is reported to be close to 4 million euros.
According to information, although the alarm system was activated during the incident, the thieves managed to escape from the scene due to a delayed response from the security service. The robbery was initially discovered by a cleaning worker who arrived at the museum, after which police were notified.
French gendarmes and criminal police officers are currently analyzing security camera footage and suspect that the theft was professionally planned and that the perpetrators may have had prior knowledge of the museum's structure. All details of the incident are being investigated.
Following the incident, the Lalique Museum was temporarily closed to visitors. The management stated that work is underway to prepare an exact list of stolen artifacts, assess the damage, and strengthen security measures.
It should be noted that this incident is considered one of the most high-profile museum thefts in France in recent years. The Lalique Museum was placed on a special watch list of cultural objects after the famous jewelry theft that occurred at the Louvre Museum last year. Despite this, the perpetrators were able to carry out the operation in a short time and escape from the scene.