This is the moment art thieves everywhere have been waiting for: a once-in-a-century flood that has overwhelmed the banks of the Seine. The Louvre will close on Friday to move artwork upstairs from the subterranean lower floors. During this time, guards will surely be concerned with the level of water, which has reached a spectacular height near the Eiffel Tower, submerging a small island. Thieves and Dan Brown fans should note that the Mona Lisa will be staying put on its higher floor.
Any amateur cat burglar would surely have seen this coming, after the Louvre decided in 2013, due to flooding concerns, to move over 90 percent of its art to a newly built museum in the north of France. (Or did they?)
The last time flooding in Paris was this severe was in 1910, when the water level of the Seine reached 28 feet and the floodwaters poured into the Haussman-designed sewer system, as well as the brand-new metro. Reporters from all over the world rushed to see the picturesque city underwater, and postcards were quickly manufactured and sold to commemorate the event before the waters receded.