The Louvre museum in Paris reopened on Wednesday, three days after thieves stole eight pieces of French crown jewels valued at an estimated €88 million (£76 million).

The Apollo Gallery, where the jewels were displayed, remained closed with a folding screen blocking the doorway, while long lines formed outside the museum’s glass pyramid.

The robbery took place on Sunday morning, about 250 metres from the Mona Lisa. Four people used a crane to break an upstairs window, entered the gallery, and stole the jewels before fleeing on motorbikes. Authorities said the thieves spent less than four minutes inside.

Alarms were triggered during the break-in, but the intruders managed to escape. One stolen item, the emerald-set imperial crown of Empress Eugénie, featuring more than 1,300 diamonds, wa

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