Newsletters
Historic royal jewelry was stolen from France’s world-famous Louvre Museum during a brazen theft on Sunday morning, officials confirmed.
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati said in a post on social media platform X that the robbery occurred during the museum’s opening hours and that no one was injured.
She said she was at the scene with museum staff and police.
The Louvre announced on X that the museum would remain closed for the day “due to exceptional circumstances.”
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France Inter radio that three or four thieves targeted the Apollo Gallery, where royal jewels are displayed, and stole “priceless” items in a theft that lasted only seven minutes.
According to officials, the thieves entered the museum from the outside using a basket lift mounted on a truck, breaking a window with a disc cutter to access the Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo Gallery).
French daily Le Parisien reported that the break-in occurred on the Seine-facing facade, where construction work is underway, and that the robbers used a freight elevator to reach the gallery.
They smashed several display cases and stole jewelry described as having “inestimable heritage and historical value.”
French media reported that the thieves fled the scene on two motorcycles, escaping within minutes.
According to French media reports, nine pieces of historic jewelry were taken in the heist, including a necklace, a brooch, and a tiara from the Napoleon and French Sovereigns display cases.
One piece of jewelry was later recovered outside the museum, apparently dropped as the thieves made their escape.
Le Parisien and TF1 reported that the recovered item was believed to be the crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, and that it was broken during the heist.
The robbery took place at around 9:30 a.m., just after the museum opened to visitors. Police sealed off the museum and evacuated tourists following the alarm.
Video from the scene showed confused visitors being ushered out of the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards as officers shut the iron gates and nearby streets along the Seine.
Authorities have launched an investigation led by the serious crime unit of the Paris police, with forensic work underway and a detailed inventory of the stolen items being compiled.
Interior Minister Nunez said it was “manifestly a team that had done scouting,” describing the operation as “meticulously planned.”
The mayor of Paris Center, Ariel Weil, said he could not recall the Louvre being targeted in a robbery in more than a century, referring to the Mona Lisa theft in 1911.
Dati and Nunez were both on-site during the investigation, and officials said “all possible measures are being taken to recover the stolen items.”
10 min read
