Almost two weeks after a violent robbery on November 20, during which seven precious objects were stolen, the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris is preparing to reopen its doors on Tuesday, December 10. The "Luxe de poche" exhibition, the scene of the robbery, has been dismantled and the shards of glass from the display case, which was smashed with an axe, swept away. Behind the 18^th century façade of the Hôtel Donon (3^rd arrondissement), which houses the establishment, everything appears to be back to normal. Well, almost. Only one of the two doors of the exhibit is open. The public will only be able to visit half of the 14 rooms. As for the fabulous collection of precious boxes on permanent display at the museum, it has been put on hold until further notice. "We're giving ourselves time to think, until January 2025, about how to reinstall them," explained Christine Marchandise, the museum's general secretary.

All but two of the agents, still in shock, are back on deck. But the trauma is palpable. "We're a small, quiet museum. The people who come here tend to be elderly. We're prepared for discomfort, for jostling between visitors, but a robbery this fast, this violent, not at all," confided a security guard to Le Monde – he asked not to give his name – who was stationed at reception on the day of the attack. At 10:30 am, the security guard, who had been with the company for six years, suddenly saw two scooters burst into the courtyard. Three of the four hooded individuals charge towards the glass door. The agent rushed to the entrance, but one of the men, armed with an axe, ordered him to lie down. Before complying, the guard discreetly managed to alert the police. One of the assailants stood guard outside, while another held a gun on the guards at the entrance. The other two climb upstairs. With 16 blows of a serrated axe, they smashed a shop window and seized seven items. Everything had been calculated. "They must have come in once to film and scout," said Marchandise. The operation lasted three minutes.

By the time law enforcement arrived, the thieves had gotten away. The police evacuated the 20 or so visitors, who had been confined to two protected rooms equipped with a water point and survival chest. Anne-Sophie de Gasquet, president of Paris Musées, the public institution that oversees 14 Paris museums, praised the teams for their exemplary, cool-headed response. By midday, Marchandise and Sixtine de Saint-Léger, curator of the "Luxe de poche" exhibition, had alerted the three lending museums that had fallen victim to the break-in: the Louvre, the Gilbert Collection housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the British Royal Crown. The British called for a crisis meeting. The curator of the Gilbert Collection traveled to Paris on November 22, accompanied by the head of security at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V & A). "All the lenders, even the most demanding, like the V & A, told us 'You couldn't have done anything'," sighed de Saint-Léger.

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