Footage of the spectacular robbery at the Louvre Museum has been broadcast for the first time on French television, showing the brazen jewel thieves breaking into display cases.
The images, filmed by surveillance cameras, were shown by the TF1 and public France Televisions channels on Sunday evening, three months after the hugely embarrassing break-in in October.
They show the two burglars, one wearing a black balaclava and a yellow high-visibility jacket, the other dressed in black with a motorcycle helmet, as they force their way into the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking in through a reinforced window with a high-powered disk cutters, they begin slicing into display cases under the eyes of several staff members who do not intervene.
Managers at the Louvre have stressed that staff are not trained to confront thieves and are asked to prioritize the evacuation of visitors.
During the roughly four minutes that the two men were inside the gallery, one staff member can be seen holding a bollard used to orient visitor through the gallery, according to France Televisions.
The images form a key part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the October 19 heist.
Details of the footage have been reported in French newspapers, including Le Parisien.
Four suspects are in police custody, including the two suspected thieves, but the eight stolen items of French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million have not been found.
The security failures highlighted by the break-in on a Sunday morning in broad daylight have lead to major pressure on director Laurence des Cars, who has apologized.
Metal bars have since been installed over the windows of the Apollo Gallery.
