The Louvre Museum will continue to remain shut following a massive robbery that unfolded on Sunday.
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The Louvre Museum, located in Paris, is one of the world’s largest and most visited museums, renowned for its extensive collection of art and historical artefacts. Recently, the museum was the target of a brazen robbery, during which thieves made off with several pieces from France’s Crown Jewels collection, leading to a temporary closure and heightened security concerns.
Thieves stole eight pieces from France’s Crown Jewels collection during the heist.
“Following yesterday’s robbery at the Louvre, the museum regrets to inform you that it will remain closed to the public today. Visitors who have already booked tickets will be refunded,” the Louvre Museum said via X.
Four thieves steal French crown jewels at the Louvre Museum using truck-mounted ladder
A gang of four robbers breached the Louvre Museum on Sunday morning using a vehicle-mounted ladder, making off with eight pieces from France’s Crown Jewels collection during a raid that spanned seven minutes.
The criminals reached the museum at 9:30am, minutes after doors opened to the public. They deployed a monte-meubles, a truck-fitted electric lift frequently seen on Parisian streets for transporting furniture into apartment windows, to access a balcony on the second floor overlooking the River Seine.
Two gang members used power tools to cut through window panes, entering the Apollo Gallery located on the building’s upper level. Museum guards faced threats from the intruders and cleared the premises whilst the criminals shattered two cases holding the jewellery.
French police report the robbers spent four minutes inside before fleeing at 9:38am aboard two scooters.
The culture ministry in France stated that nine pieces were seized from the gallery housing the nation’s Crown Jewels. Authorities recovered one piece, a crown belonging to Empress Eugรฉnie from the 1800s, close to the museum.
The crown sustained damage during the robbery and contains 1,354 diamonds, 1,136 rose-cut diamonds and 56 emeralds, French broadcaster TF1 and newspaper Le Parisien reported.
What was stolen in the Louvre Museum heist?
A diamond and sapphire jewellery set worn by Hortense de Beauharnais, Queen of Holland; Marie-Amรฉlie, Queen of the French; and Isabelle d’Orlรฉans, Duchess of Guise.
The diadem features 24 Ceylon sapphires and 1,083 diamonds that can be detached and worn as brooches, according to the Louvre. The set stayed with the Orlรฉans family until 1985, when it was acquired by the Louvre.
An emerald necklace and earrings gifted by Napoleon to his second wife, Marie-Louise of Austria, in March 1810. The set was crafted by jeweller Franรงois-Rรฉgnault Nitot and includes 32 emeralds and 1,138 diamonds. The necklace and earrings were sold to the Louvre in 2004 for a reported 3.7 million euros (ยฃ3.2 million).
A reliquary brooch owned by Empress Eugรฉnie, wife of Napoleon III. The brooch was crafted by Paul-Alfred Bapst in 1855 and comprises 94 diamonds, including the 17th and 18th Mazarin diamonds, which were given to King Louis XIV by Cardinal Mazarin in 1661, according to the museum. The brooch was acquired by the Louvre in 1887.
A diamond bow brooch that originally formed the buckle of a diamond belt of 4,000 stones exhibited at the Universal Exhibition of 1855. Empress Eugรฉnie is said to have worn the belt during a visit by Queen Victoria to the Palace of Versailles in August 1855, and again in June 1856 for the baptism of the Prince Imperial.
In 1887, the brooch was purchased by jeweller Emile Schlesinger for New York socialite Caroline Astor at auction for 42,200 French francs. The Louvre bought it in 2008 for 6.72 million euros (more than ยฃ5.8 million at the time), according to the Fondation Napoleon.
A pearl diadem made for Eugรฉnie by jeweller Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier in 1853. It contains 212 pearls and 1,998 diamonds, according to the Louvre.
A preliminary report revealed that one in three rooms in the area of the museum raided had no CCTV cameras, according to French media.
France’s culture ministry said the museum’s alarms did sound and staff followed protocol by contacting security forces and protecting visitors. The gang had tried to set fire to their vehicle outside but were prevented by a museum staff member, the ministry added.
Five museum staff members were either in or near the Apollo Gallery at the time of the heist. No one was injured in the incident.
Around 60 investigators are working on the case, according to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau. Prosecutors said their theory is that the robbers were under orders for a criminal organisation.
Investigators are questioning witnesses, combing through forensic evidence and reviewing footage from surveillance cameras in the museum and on the street, according to local reports.
‘An attack’ on French history says President Emmanuel Macron
The theft has caused a reaction in France. President Emmanuel Macron called the raid “an attack on our history.”
The Louvre said visitors who had already booked tickets would be automatically refunded. The Louvre is always closed on Tuesdays, so the earliest it could reopen this week would be Wednesday.
Earlier this year, the Louvre requested help from the French government to restore and renovate the museum’s exhibition halls and protect its works of art.
Macron pledged the Louvre would be redesigned as part of the New Renaissance project, expected to cost between 700 million euros and 800 million euros (ยฃ608 million to ยฃ695 million). The project includes security measures.
In 1911, an Italian museum employee made off with the Mona Lisa under his coat after lifting the painting straight off the wall of a gallery. It was recovered after two years.
In 1998, Le Chemin de Sevres, a 19th century painting by Camille Corot, was stolen and has never been found. The incident prompted an overhaul of museum security.
There has been a spate of thefts targeting French museums. Last month, thieves broke into the Adrien Dubouche Museum in Limoges and stole porcelain works worth 9.5 million euros (ยฃ8.25 million).
In November 2024, seven items were stolen from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in the capital. Five were recovered days ago. The same month, robbers raided the Hieron Museum in Burgundy, firing shots before escaping with millions of pounds worth of 20th century artworks.
French museums have faced a series of robberies in recent months. Criminals raided the Adrien Dubouche Museum in Limoges last month, taking porcelain pieces valued at 9.5 million euros (ยฃ8.25 million).
Seven pieces disappeared from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris during November 2024, with authorities recovering five items recently.
That same month saw armed thieves fire weapons during a robbery at the Hieron Museum in Burgundy before fleeing with 20th century artworks valued in the millions of pounds.
