A week after thieves stormed the Louvre and ripped eight priceless pieces from France’s Crown Jewels, the country is nursing a deep cultural wound — even as Paris authorities on Sunday announced arrests tied to the haul.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France after a spectacular daylight heist exposed woeful flaws in museum's security. On Friday a secret police escort oversaw the transfer of some of the remaining jewels to the Bank, 500m (about 500 yards ) from the museum, French media report.

Last week, eight crown jewels were stolen from the world-famous museum in Paris, which sparked public outrage and raised questions over museum security.View on euronews

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.

The precious artifacts snatched from Paris’s Louvre Museum on Sunday include an emerald necklace gifted by Napoleon to his second wife and other priceless crown jewels.

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.

High visitor numbers and dwindling funds for overhauls may have made the landmark museum unexpectedly vulnerable.

The robbery at the Louvre left behind more than broken glass. It battered the pride of a nation that is increasingly glum about itself and its direction.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France, according to French radio RTL, after an audacious daylight heist last week exposed the famed museum's security vulnerability.