French museum robbed of gold and silver coins hours after Louvre theft

Security noticed that a sliding door at the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot had been forced open and a display case containing gold and silver coins had been broken into.

A second French museum was the subject of a robbery, mere hours after the brazen US$100-million daylight heist at the Louvre on Sunday.

On Monday, municipal officials discovered that part of a display at the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot (Denis Diderot House of Enlightenment), located in Langres, France, had disappeared, according to local media outlets.

Thieves broke into the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot late Sunday night after breaking down the main gate of the Hôtel du Breuil-de-Saint-Germain, which houses the museum, the Washington Post reports.

In a Facebook post, the museum said it “will be closed to the public until further notice, starting this Monday, October 20th.”

“The reason? It turns out the museum was the victim of trespassing and an investigation is underway. We’ll keep you updated on the reopening of the site as soon as we know more,” the post added.

The museum, which is closed every Monday, did not have any visitors present when its security noticed that a sliding door had been forced open and a display case containing gold and silver coins had been broken into, Pierrick White, a senior local official, told BFMTV on Wednesday.

White said “not all of the gold and silver coins” in the museum were stolen.

“The gendarmerie, accompanied by our museum teams, are currently looking into things very closely,” White said. “The people of Langres as a whole were robbed by very malicious people. It’s a bit like the town’s family jewels that were stolen.”