Don't panic: Why the Louvre gang was more Dad's Army than Ocean's 11

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SIX THINGS TO TALK ABOUT
Louvre squad’s fatal mistake: they forgot to not panic | AI’s bubble talk | What next for Andrew? | Bye, MTV | Scary movies | Buy a little bit of Sweden, in Scotland

🍸 First reports from the Louvre Museum robbery made the operation sound like an Oceans 11-style heist: a cherry picker, cutting their way through windows, targeting an audacious haul of £100 million in royal jewellery. All that was missing was the fancy camera angles and wah-wah guitar soundtrack.

Unfortunately for the robbers, but handily for the cause of law and order, they were less Danny Ocean and more Dad’s Army: they badly lost their nerve around four minutes into the raid, as alarms rang and police closed in, reports the WSJ. The team hadn’t banked on the sheer, agonising slowness of the cherry picker’s platform: they had to stand on it and wait, after they’d leapt aboard with their swag bags, as it slowly, carefully, bleeped its way to ground level.

In their subsequent anxiety to leave, they left behind clues - and forgot to set the vehicle, and all the clues - fingerprints, DNA, other traces - it contained on fire - despite dousing it in petrol. With 100 investigators on their trail, even the high-powered scooters they’d raced off on weren’t enough to escape the long arm of the law. Oh - and don’t try to leave the city you’ve just scandalised by flying out its major airport.

As of writing, only one member of the alleged conspiracy remains at large: three accused of being heist team members, and another four who might have information, are all under arrest. (🎁WSJ - gift link)

Upgrade to read the full Party Line, and find an explanation of the AI bubble’s finances (they’re terrifying), some recommendations for scary movies (they’re terrifying too), what’s next for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor (potentially terrifying, for him) and a not-at-all terrifying little piece of Sweden, in south-west Scotland, that’s hit the market.

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