The Louvre reopens three days after the theft of the French crown jewels

The Louvre Museum in Paris has reopened three days after €88m (£76m; $88m) worth of jewelery was stolen in a daring daytime heist.

Visitors were welcomed back to the Louvre from 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday, but the museum said its Apollo Gallery, where the robbery took place, remained closed.

Thieves brandishing power tools took less than eight minutes to break into the world’s most visited museum and make off with the loot on scooters on Sunday morning. They haven’t been caught yet.

The director of the museum, Laurence de Cars, is due to appear before the culture committee of the French senate on Wednesday afternoon.

She has yet to speak publicly about the robbery, which President Emmanuel Macron described as an attack on the country’s heritage.

A preliminary report found that one in three rooms at the Louvre lacked CCTV and that its wider alarm system had not gone off. As a result, security measures have been tightened at cultural institutions in France.

The museum closed its doors after the daring heist, telling visitors who had booked ahead of time that they would be refunded.

Meanwhile, dozens of investigators are working to catch the criminals.

Four masked thieves used a lorry with a set of mechanical ladders mounted on it to gain access to the Apollo Gallery through a balcony near the River Seine at 09:30 on Sunday.

Two of them cut through a glass display case on the first floor using a battery-operated circular saw and enter the museum.

They then threatened security inside, who evacuated the building, and cut the glass of two jewelry display cases.

The thieves attempted to set fire to their vehicle from outside, but were prevented by the intervention of a member of museum staff. They were seen leaving on scooters at 09:38.

The loot included a diamond and emerald necklace given by Emperor Napoleon to his wife, a tiara worn by Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, and several items previously owned by Queen Marie-Amelie.

Investigators also found a damaged crown that had belonged to Empress Eugenie along the thieves’ escape route – believed to have been dropped in the escape.