Thieves wearing balaclavas pulled off a brazen daylight heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Monday, stealing priceless jewellery once owned by monarchs.

Using a crane to smash an upstairs window, a group of four people made off with jewels worth an estimated 88 million euros ($157.3 million), according to Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

But it was not the first museum jewellery heist this century to resemble a Hollywood movie.

Thieves have executed bold raids to varying degrees of success in recent years, despite the difficulty in profiting from such a crime.

How France's crown jewels became and easy target

As French authorities scour Europe for some of their nation's most prized possessions, closer inspection of the Louvre museum itself reveals vulnerabilities.

Here is a

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