Does a photo show a well-dressed French detective working the case of the Crown Jewels stolen from the Louvre? No, that's not true: The original poster later said it was a "fantasy version" she did not regret posting.

PARIS -- PARIS (AP) — The glittering sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds that once adorned France's royals could well be gone forever, experts say after a brazen, four-minute heist in broad daylight left the nation stunned and the government struggling to explain a new debacle at the Louvre.

In a matter of minutes, thieves climbed a ladder and smashed display cases before fleeing the scene with eight valuable artifacts. The jewels had been housed just 270 yards from the "Mona Lisa"

French police have gathered more than 150 DNA samples and fingerprints in the hunt for the thieves behind a daring daylight raid on the Louvre that saw eight royal jewels worth €88 million stolen.

In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, thieves smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.

The Louvre reopens after a daring theft of crown jewels, with 100 investigators searching for suspects and stolen treasures.

The president and director of the Louvre Museum has been summoned to appear before French lawmakers amid the ongoing investigation into the heist of priceless jewels.

The Louvre's director has acknowledged a ″terrible failure″ at the Paris tourist attraction after a daylight crown jewel heist over the weekend.