Heist at the Louvre!

 Eight pieces - or pieces-of-eight*?

Jewellery heist starts fierce debate

Priceless oeuvres again are stolen

Created for who else? Napoleon!

 

Erstwhile fortress of King’s realm,

The Louvre has French State at the helm;

With its proud heritage on show

No wonder hordes of people go!

 

But safety measures were not tight

Thieves break glass in broad daylight

Apollon gallery – despoiled!

Macron, once again is roiled!

 

L’Elysée, shocked, has a red face

Swift hue and cry is put in place;

The perpetrators still unknown …

Shades of Arsène Lupin** roam!

 

It’s not the first time or the last

That burglars greedy eyes have cast

On treasures which they deftly steal;

Their capture will make top newsreel!

(c) Poet in the woods 2025

* The "piece of eight" originated from the Spanish silver dollar, a coin worth eight reales, minted from the late 15th century. It was cut into eight smaller pieces to make change for smaller transactions, giving it the name "piece of eight". 

 ** Note for the curious: Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes.