Seven minutes is all it took for thieves to rob the world’s most famous museum Sunday. Here's a minute-by-minute breakdown of how it went down.

The French crown jewels robbed from the Louvre museum in Paris are likely lost forever, an art crime expert tells CBS News, even if the thieves are caught.

Authorities were racing Monday to reassure the public about security at key cultural sites — and find the jewels stolen from the museum before they can be broken up and melted down.

A specialized police unit is investigating a brazen daytime heist of eight pieces of jewelry worth about $102 million from Paris' Louvre Museum.

PARIS (Reuters) -A jewellery heist at Paris' Louvre museum has cast France in a "deplorable" light, Justice Minister Gerard Darmanin said on Monday as opposition politicians criticised the government for what they branded a national humiliation.

The Louvre's cameras failed to detect burglars and prevent the heist of France's crown jewels, the museum's director said on Wednesday, amid growing anger over major security lapses.

Thieves used a stolen truck-mounted moving lift to scale the Louvre and steal royal jewels worth over $100 million in a lightning-fast Paris heist.