Gold worth $700,000 stolen in Paris museum heist

Thieves broke into the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and made off with samples of raw gold worth about $700,000, officials have said, the latest in a wave of heists hitting cultural institutions across France

Thieves broke into the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and made off with samples of raw gold worth about $700,000, officials have said, the latest in a wave of heists hitting cultural institutions across France.

The theft took place at the museum’s Gallery of Geology and Mineralogy in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the museum said in a statement, adding that police were notified as soon as security staff discovered the break-in.

“This comes at a critical time for cultural institutions, particularly museums” it said. "Several public collections have been victims of theft in recent months"

Based on the price of raw gold, the stolen items are estimated to be worth about €600,000 ($710,000), though they’re “nevertheless of inestimable heritage value,” the museum said.

“The National Museum of Natural History deplores this inestimable loss for research, heritage, and public outreach,” it added.