PARIS, Jan 2o: French television has broadcast for the first time surveillance footage of the October break-in at the Louvre Museum, showing burglars smashing display cases to steal crown jewels, officials said Monday.

The footage, aired Sunday evening on TF1 and France Télévisions channels, captures two masked men entering the Apollo Gallery. One wore a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, while the other was dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet. They forced entry through a reinforced window using high-powered disk cutters and used a basket lift to reach the display area.

During the roughly four-minute robbery on Oct. 19, the thieves smashed open display cases and stole nine pieces of jewelry. Only one item, a crown dropped during their escape, has been recovered. Staff present did not intervene, as Louvre management emphasizes that employees are trained to prioritize visitor safety rather than confront thieves.

The heist has intensified scrutiny of security at the world-famous museum and raised questions about director Laurence des Cars’ oversight. A recent audit revealed that 35% of rooms in the Denon Wing, where the stolen jewels were displayed, lack camera coverage. The stolen items were also not privately insured, in accordance with French law, further highlighting vulnerabilities.

Union protests over staffing shortages and maintenance issues have compounded challenges. Multiple strikes in recent months, including one on Monday that forced the museum to close, have affected thousands of tourists.

Four suspects are currently in police custody, including the two alleged burglars, but the eight remaining pieces of the French crown jewels, valued at an estimated $102 million, remain missing. Investigators are using the surveillance footage and DNA evidence collected at the scene as key components of the ongoing criminal inquiry.

Following the heist, metal bars were installed over the Apollo Gallery windows to prevent further break-ins, and French newspapers, including Le Parisien, have extensively covered the case.