The Louvre Museum in Paris is still closed on Monday while police investigate a brazen heist which targeted France's priceless crown jewels.
Thieves wielding power tools broke into the world's most visited museum in broad daylight, before escaping on scooters with eight extremely valuable items of jewellery.
Here is what we know about the crime which has stunned France.
The robbery happened on Sunday between 09:30 and 09:40 local time (08:30 and 08:40 BST), shortly after the museum opened to visitors.
Four thieves used a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony close to the River Seine.
Pictures from the scene showed a vehicle-mounted ladder leading up to a first-floor window.
Two of the thieves cut through glass panes with a battery-powered disc cutter and entered the museum.
They then threatened the guards, who evacuated the premises, and stole items from two glass display cases.
A preliminary report has revealed that one in three rooms in the area of the museum raided had no CCTV cameras, according to French media.
This is a "very painful" episode for France, said Natalie Goulet, a member of the French Senate's finance committee.
"We are all disappointed and angry," she said, and it is "difficult to understand how it happened so easily."
Goulet told the BBC the gallery's localised alarm was recently broken, and "we have to wait for the investigation in order to know if the alarm was disactivated".
France's culture ministry said the museum's wider alarms did sound and staff followed protocol by contacting security forces and protecting visitors.
Goulet said the cut up jewels would be "used in a money laundering system".
"I don't think we are facing amateurs. This is organised crime and they have absolutely no morals. They don't appreciate jewellery as a piece of history, only as a way to clean their dirty money," she added.
The gang had tried to set fire to their vehicle outside but were prevented by the intervention of a museum staff-member, the culture ministry added.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati told French news outlet TF1 that footage of the theft showed the masked robbers entering "calmly" and smashing display cases containing the jewels. No one was injured in the incident.
She described the thieves as seemingly being "experienced" with a well-prepared plan to flee on two scooters.
Around 60 investigators are working on the case and prosecutors said their theory is that the robbers were under orders for a criminal organisation.
The search is on for four suspects and investigators are studying CCTV footage from the escape route.
On Monday, the museum was still closed.
One witness described scenes of "total panic" as the museum was evacuated. Later images showed entrances closed off with metal gates.
