This national treasure worth at least 5 million euros was stolen from a French museum… with a chainsaw

Four bikers robbed the Hieron Museum in Paray-le-Monial and stole elements of the work “The Path of Life”, classified National treasure.

€5 to €7 million was stolen in a matter of minutes in broad daylight. On Thursday, November 21, four people held up the Hiéron museum in Paray-le-Monial (Saône-et-Loire), between Dijon and Clermont-Ferrand. The criminals made off with parts of the work Vita Vitae, or “The Way of Life”, which was classified as a National Treasure in 2000 by the Ministry of Culture.

The thieves arrived on a motorbike and entered the museum wearing helmets. One of them remained outside to keep watch, explained the mayor of the town, Jean-Marc Nesme. Four members of staff and visitors were present during the robbery. “The staff were able to take refuge in a nearby house right from the start,” the elected official said. According to the Journal de Saône-et-Loire, the criminals fired shots before heading towards the museum's centerpiece.

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Second museum in two days

The monumental work, more than two meters long, made at the beginning of the 20th century by the jeweler Chaumet, retraces the life of Jesus. It “was damaged, and some parts stolen,” Rachida Dati, Minister of Culture, said in a post on X on Friday. The robbers cut the armored glass using a chainsaw. They then seized gold and ivory statuettes, as well as emerald decorations. They also sawed off part of the work's marble base, reports BFMTV.

“I condemn in the strongest terms these unacceptable acts that harm our heritage,” declared Rachida Dati, who praised the speed of the intervention of the police. The thieves fled on a motorbike. And if we already thought that this incredible robbery was going to happen, it doesn't stop there. According to the media, the bikers left nails on the road as they fled, which caused two police vehicles that were chasing them to get flat tires. The robbers have not yet been found. An investigation has been opened, led by the Charolles research brigade, supported by the Dijon research section.

This is the second museum robbery in two days. On Wednesday, in Paris, the Cognacq-Jay museum was the victim of a robbery, in similar circumstances. Four motorcyclists, wearing gloves and helmets, came armed with baseball bats and axes. They left with five collector's boxes and snuff boxes and fled on a motorbike. According to Le Figaro, the damage could amount to one million euros.