PARIS: Masked thieves carried out a brazen daylight raid on the Louvre museum on Sunday, scaling a movable ladder to an upper window overlooking the Galerie d’Apollon, smashing display cases and making off with eight pieces of priceless jewellery in a heist that took about seven minutes, officials said.
The raid — captured on multiple security cameras and described by prosecutors and ministers — has prompted a major police manhunt and fresh criticism of security at France’s leading cultural institutions.
The break-in: method and timeline
According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the raiders arrived at about 09:30 (local time), roughly half an hour after the museum opened to the public.
They parked a truck carrying an extendable ladder on a road beside the Seine, climbed to an upper window of the building that houses the Apollo Gallery and used cutting equipment to enter.
Beccuau told BFM TV the gang consisted of four people wearing balaclavas. They threatened guards with angle grinders but were unarmed.
The entire operation lasted six to seven minutes, after which the suspects fled on motorbikes. Some equipment was left behind, the Culture Ministry said.
What was taken — and what was recovered
The Culture Ministry said the thieves targeted nine objects and succeeded in taking eight.
The ninth item — the crown of Empress Eugénie (the wife of Napoleon III), which is set with more than 1,300 diamonds and dozens of emeralds — was dropped and later found on the streets of Paris as the robbers fled, officials said.
Among the pieces stolen were:
- an emerald-and-diamond necklace given by Napoleon I to Empress Marie-Louise;
- a diadem that formerly belonged to Empress Eugénie, described as set with nearly 2,000 diamonds;
- a necklace that once belonged to Marie-Amélie, the last queen of France, said to contain eight sapphires and 631 diamonds.
Alexandre Giquello, president of auction house Drouot, told AFP the items would be virtually unsaleable in their current, recognisable form and that moving such high-profile jewels would be extremely difficult.
Security response and official criticism
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said investigators were analysing many hours of video footage from cameras in and around the Louvre and on main highways out of Paris to track the suspects.
He said about 60 investigators were mobilised and that the operation suggested an organised criminal group was involved.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin acknowledged security shortcomings, saying on France Inter radio that authorities had “failed” because thieves could place a furniture hoist in central Paris, use it to reach a gallery window and seize priceless jewels.
Nunez subsequently ordered stepped-up protection around cultural sites.
A report by France’s Court of Auditors — cited by AFP and covering 2019 to 2024 — highlighted delays in upgrading security at the Louvre and said only about a quarter of one wing was covered by video surveillance.
The Louvre itself closed to visitors on Sunday and remained shut for at least a second day, with officials saying it might not reopen until Wednesday (the museum is normally closed on Tuesdays).
Approximately 2,000 people were evacuated during the incident.
Investigation leads and suspect profile
Authorities said the thieves appeared experienced and possibly foreign. Interior Ministry sources told the press some suspects may have used scooters for the getaway.
Investigators recovered some of the gang’s equipment and the dropped crown, and were tracing the vehicle used to transport the ladder.
Prosecutors are treating the case as a high-profile art and heritage theft and have opened an inquiry to identify and arrest the perpetrators and to recover the stolen items.
Recent museum thefts and security debate
The Louvre theft has reignited debate about security at French museums after other recent heists.
Last month, criminals broke into Paris’s Natural History Museum and made off with gold samples worth roughly $700,000.
In Limoges, thieves stole a pair of historic dishes and a vase the previous month, losses later estimated at $7.6 million.
Those incidents, and the Court of Auditors’ findings, have fuelled criticism that museum protection has lagged behind evolving threats — prompting ministers to promise immediate measures to strengthen surveillance and access control at cultural sites.
Impact and implications
Beyond the immediate loss and embarrassment, officials and cultural experts warn the heist raises difficult questions about how to secure small, highly valuable items that are also part of the public patrimony.
The Louvre’s holdings include world-famous works such as the Mona Lisa, and while the museum has layers of security for its paintings, the jewellery in the Apollo Gallery is displayed in cases that — as the raid showed — can be vulnerable to a determined, well-prepared team.
Investigators say recovery remains possible: stolen objects of this type are hard to sell on legitimate markets and may be held by organised groups awaiting a buyer or ransom.
