Thieves who staged a daring daylight heist at the Louvre museum in Paris made off with jewels worth an estimated €88 million euros, Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Tuesday.

“It is important to remember that this damage is an economic damage, but it is nothing compared to the historical damage caused by this theft,” the prosecutor told RTL radio.

In what some politicians branded a national humiliation, four people broke into the Louvre on Sunday using a crane to smash an upstairs window. They took objects from a gallery for royal jewellery before escaping on motorbikes.

The eight items of stolen jewellery included a tiara and earrings from the set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, of the early 19th century. The crown of Empress Eugenie was found outside the museum, apparently dropped during the getaway.