The Adrien-Dubouché National Museum, in Limoges, central France, on February 18, 2024. FRÉDÉRIC DUCHESNAY / BELPRESS/MAXPPP
A French ceramics museum was burgled overnight on Wednesday, September 3, with losses estimated at €9.5 million, local authorities said. The Adrien Dubouché National Museum, located in the central French city of Limoges, holds around 18,000 works, including the largest public collection of Limoges porcelain, according to its website.
Thieves snatched three porcelain works, which are classed as national treasures, in a heist, the museum said. The suspects entered the historical gallery where they made off with "two particularly important dishes of Chinese porcelain (...) dating from the 14th and 15th centuries" and an 18th-century Chinese vase, all designated as "national treasures," the museum added.
The city's mayor, Emile Roger Lombertie, spoke to reporters about the theft, saying: "The security system worked, but it may need to be reviewed."
Security guards sounded the alarm, with police quickly arriving on scene, but the suspects had already fled, said Limoges public prosecutor Emilie Abrantes. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into "aggravated theft of cultural property exhibited in a French museum, committed in a group and with damage to property."
