A daring burglary at the Lalique Museum in northeastern France has left authorities investigating the theft of almost €4 million worth of jewelry, raising fresh fears of the security of the country’s museums right now, just months after a major robbery at the Louvre in Paris.
The gang of masked burglars broke into the Lalique Museum in Wingen-sur-Moder around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 5, investigators said. The thieves allegedly forced open an entrance before they went to the jewelry gallery of the museum, breaking six display cases and stealing more than 20 valuable items.
The stolen collection could be as much as €4 million, officials say, although that is still being investigated.
The stolen items were made mostly from crystal as opposed to precious gemstones, investigators said. And so experts believe the jewelry would be very difficult to melt down and resell through conventional channels, so the theft may have been carefully planned for collectors or the illegal art market.
The museum will be closed temporarily while police investigate the damage of the break-in and investigate the cause of the police action.
According to sources familiar with the probe, the museum’s alarm system was triggered during the burglary. But the response by the private security company that monitors the premises has been questioned.
A cleaning staff member, rather than security personnel, was the first to arrive at the museum and notified police after the break-in happened, officials said. The museum is currently checking CCTV footage to identify the suspects and track their movements.
The Lalique Museum, which opened in 2011 near the historic Lalique crystal factory, is based on the legacy of French jeweler and glassmaker René Lalique. It has 650 works between the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods— jewelry, decorative glass as well as contemporary crystal work— that draw people from all over the world.
Wingen-sur-Moder Mayor Christian Dorschner expressed frustration at the incident and questioned how the security company handled it despite the alarm being in operation.
The mayor said all alarms had been activated but the security firm’s slow response prevented law enforcement from coming in early. He also claimed that the burglars were experts in the museum's layout and security arrangements.
The robbery has reignited concerns about museum security in France after last year’s sensational theft at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Thieves had stolen €80 million of jewelry - including historic French Crown Jewels - in less than eight minutes.
Following the Louvre heist, French authorities had identified the Lalique Museum as a cultural site needing enhanced security measures. But even the latest burglary has highlighted weaknesses in emergency response systems and surveillance systems.
Police are still investigating the incident, while authorities are trying to recover the stolen artifacts and determine if the suspects are linked to other high-profile museum thefts across Europe.
