GONE IN 7 MINS

French 'crown jewels' stolen from Louvre in daylight gem raid

- BY PETER ALLEN in Paris

POLICE in France are hunting a "highly organised criminal gang" who broke into the Louvre to steal priceless jewels in a heist that took just seven minutes.

The thieves were dressed as workers in hard hats and hi-viz yellow vests for the audacious raid, which targeted objects that once belonged to Emperor Napoleon and his family.

At around 9.30am yesterday, just as the Paris art museum was preparing to open, two of the gang arrived on Yamaha Tmax scooters, while two others waited on the back of a flatbed truck with an extendable ladder.

They focused on a wing of the Louvre by the Seine river, where construction work was under way nearby.