French Minister Admits ‘We Have Failed’ After Thieves with Chainsaws Stole ‘Priceless Jewels’ from the Louvre Museum By Desiree Anello

Gérald Darmanin, a French politician serving as Minister of Justice in the country, is speaking out about the seven-minute heist that occurred at the Louvre Museum in Paris, resulting in the loss of jewelry worth millions.

Hours after thieves broke into the famed museum on Oct. 19 and stole the items from display cases, Darmanin, 53, admitted to France Inter radio that security protocols “failed” to prevent the four-person heist.

“What is certain is that we have failed,” he said, highlighting how the perpetrators used a freight elevator during the day to carry out the heist.

“[It’s] giving a deplorable image of France,” Darmanin added, “The French feel like they have been robbed.”

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Acknowledging how the perpetrators of the robbery, which he described as “incredible,” are still at large, Darmanin confirmed that an investigation into the “organized robbery” and “criminal conspiracy” is in progress.

He added, “These people will be arrested, there is no doubt about it. The question is when.”

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Chainsaw-wielding thieves used a ladder boosted by a mechanical boom truck to force a window open at the Louvre. They then smashed the display cases inside sometime between 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. local time, after the museum had opened its doors.

French authorities eventually swarmed the world-famous museum, which has since remained closed.

For his part, Chris Marinello, the chief executive of Art Recovery International, said it is unlikely the jewels could be recovered if the thieves aren’t caught in “the next 24 to 48 hours.”

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“There is a race going on right now,” he told the BBC World Service’s Newshour program, explaining that the thieves “are not going to keep them intact — they are going to break them up, melt down the valuable metal, recut the valuable stones and hide evidence of their crime.”

“They may catch the criminals, but they won’t recover the jewels,” he added.

As for what was stolen from the iconic museum? The Ministry of Culture confirmed to Reuters that nine items were stolen: a sapphire tiara, a sapphire necklace and a single sapphire earring worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense; a matching emerald necklace and emerald earrings worn by Marie-Louise (Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife); a tiara and large brooch that belonged to Empress Eugénie; and a brooch known as the “reliquary brooch.”

“Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value. The ministers of culture and the interior are on site with the museum’s management,” a Louvre spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE following the incident.

“All possible measures are being taken to recover the stolen items,” they added.