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Dawn raid at Lalique
Masked burglars stole jewellery worth several million euros from the Lalique Museum in Wingen-sur-Moder in northeastern France in an early-morning raid on Sunday around 5.30am (0330 GMT).
“Jewelry worth 4 million euros was stolen from the Lalique Jewelry Museum in the Wingen-sur-Moder commune in eastern France, APA reports citing Le Parisien”
The thieves forced a door, headed for the jewellery room, and smashed open six display cases, with a source close to the investigation telling AFP that "Around twenty pieces of jewellery were stolen."
The museum said on its website it will be closed for several days because of the burglary, and the CCTV footage is currently being examined.
A source close to the investigation said the alarm went off but, by the time the security company had completed its checks, "it was a cleaning lady who arrived first on the scene and called the police," as the museum dedicated to René Lalique’s Art Nouveau and Art Deco work opened in 2011 near the company’s factory.
Value, access, and alarms
Multiple outlets tied the theft to a valuation of close to four million euros, with an investigation source telling AFP that the loss "could amount to several million euros, likely close to four million," and Le Parisien quoted by APA saying the amount was "probably about four million."
France 24 similarly said the thief or thieves broke in to the museum in Wingen-sur-Moder in northeastern France around 5:30 am (0330 GMT) and headed straight for the jewellery room, while the museum said on its website it would be closed for several days because of the burglary.
The Straits Times reported that "Around twenty pieces of jewelry were stolen," and described the alarm and response timeline in which the cleaning lady arrived first and called the police.
Le Parisien added that several hooded individuals forced a door and shattered six display cases, and that the stolen items were crystal jewellery without gemstones that cannot be melted down.
Officials condemn, investigation continues
The burglary prompted condemnation from regional leadership, with Franck Leroy, president of the Grand Est region, calling it "an unacceptable attack on our heritage" and saying that "Beyond the stolen works, it is an emblematic place of our history, our know-how and our culture that has been struck."
“The Lalique Glassmaking Museum, located in Wingen-sur-Moder in Alsace, announced on Sunday, July 5 that it had been burgled in the early morning”
BFM reported that the Saverne gendarmerie’s investigative brigade has been assigned to the case, and that the gendarmerie intervened as the investigation will proceed.
BFM also said the incident occurred shortly after 6 a.m. when several masked criminals forcibly entered the museum through the main door, broke six display cases, and stole crystal jewellery that was therefore impossible to melt down or reshape.
The museum’s management said on social media that the establishment would be closed in the coming days to plan a calm and safe reopening, while Le Parisien reported that the investigation has been entrusted to the criminal investigation unit of the Bas-Rhin gendarmerie group.
