Thieves raided Paris's Louvre museum in broad daylight Sunday, taking just seven minutes to grab some of France's priceless crown jewels, but dropping a gem-encrusted crown as they fled, officials and sources said.

Thieves broke into the Louvre in Paris — the world's most visited museum — early Sunday morning. Museum officials said they stole jewelry and fled.

The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat.

Jewellery stolen on Sunday morning from the Louvre museum in Paris is of "invaluable cultural and historical significance" beyond its market value, the French ministries of culture and interior said.

In a brazen, seven-minute strike, thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre on Sunday morning and, as tourists were already inside, forced a window,