A manhunt is underway to find the four thieves before the jewels - which once belonged to French royals - are broken up.

Interior minister Laurent Nunez says thieves got away with ‘jewels that have genuine heritage value and are, in fact, priceless’

In a daring four-minute heist, thieves stole eight priceless French crown jewels from the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon. Valued at millions, the stolen items include necklaces and diadems.

The necklace from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, made up of eight sapphires and 631 diamonds, as well as the tiara of Empress Eugénie, featuring nearly 2,000 diamonds, were among the items stolen by a gang of four thieves who entered through a window.

The Louvre in Paris was shut on Sunday after a group of masked men broke in and fled on scooters with eight pieces of jewellery worth millions.The robbery reportedly took place shortly after opening time on Sunday morning,