Thieves steal €4 million crystal jewelry from French museum

Thieves stole an estimated four million euros worth of crystal jewelry from the Lalique Museum in Wingen-sur-Moder, northeastern France, in a dawn raid on Sunday, July 5. The burglary marks the latest in a series of high-profile museum thefts that have raised serious questions about security protocols at French cultural institutions.

According to investigators, several masked individuals forced open a door to the museum around 5:30 a.m. local time. They proceeded directly to the jewelry room, where they smashed six display cases and fled with approximately twenty pieces. The stolen items are made of crystal and contain no precious stones, making them difficult to melt down and resell.

An alarm was triggered during the break-in, but authorities said the security company responsible did not immediately alert police. A cleaner arriving at the scene was the first to call law enforcement. Wingen-sur-Moder Mayor Christian Dorschner expressed anger over the security lapse, stating that while all alarms functioned correctly, there was a major failure on the part of the security company. He suggested the thieves were professionals who were well-informed, as they targeted the jewelry room...