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.

The Louvre reopened Wednesday morning, three days after thieves forced open a window and stole French crown jewels in a daring, daylight raid on the musuem.

“We have failed,” Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said, noting that the ability to plant a freight lift undetected on a public way projects “a very negative image of France.”