It was barely 9:30 AM on a Sunday, and the world’s most magnificent museum, the Louvre, had only been open for half an hour. That’s when two burglars, their faces hidden, were hoisted onto a second-floor balcony on the museum’s south side.
They arrived on a ‘monte-meubles’ – a truck-mounted electric ladder typically used for moving furniture through Parisian apartment windows. This ordinary sight in Paris was about to facilitate an extraordinary crime.
With grinders, they shattered a window, triggering the initial security alarms. Inside, they found themselves in the opulent Galerie d’Apollon, a chamber dedicated to France’s most treasured royal jewels and crown diamonds, displayed in a series of secure cases.
They swiftly moved, smashing two more cases and setting off further alarms. From within, they grabbed eight priceless artifacts: a royal sapphire necklace, a royal emerald necklace with its accompanying earrings, and the exquisite diadem once worn by Empress Eugénie, wife of Emperor Napoleon III.
Descending the ladder to a road adjacent to the Seine, the burglars vanished into the Parisian morning, whisked away by two accomplices on motor scooters.
The entire audacious operation lasted a staggering seven minutes.
This wasn’t just any theft; it was arguably the most audacious and financially devastating heist in the Louvre’s long history. French politicians quickly voiced their dismay and anger, publicly questioning how such a breach could occur at the world’s most renowned museum, especially in broad daylight on a Sunday morning.
Ariel Weil, the mayor of central Paris, where the Louvre stands, remarked, “It seems like a scenario out of a film or a television series.”
Mayor Weil emphasized the shock: not only did the robbery unfold in broad daylight with visitors inside, but the thieves made off with items that are much more than mere jewels—they are national treasures.
“These are the most valuable things,” he explained, “not just materially, but from a symbolic point of view. They represent our history.”
Police officers gathered outside the iconic Louvre Museum on Sunday, their presence underscoring the gravity of the morning’s events.
President Emmanuel Macron quickly took to social media, calling the theft “an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our History.”
He vowed swift action: “We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this.”
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that a full investigation had been launched.
Authorities confirmed that investigators are meticulously examining all available evidence, including items left behind by the thieves and extensive security camera footage. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, speaking on France Inter radio, declared it ‘a major robbery.’
Nuñez, who was Paris police chief until just last week, noted that the heist’s remarkable precision and speed suggested the work of seasoned criminals.
When the break-in occurred, the museum was already bustling with visitors. Five staff members were in or near the Apollo Gallery. Adhering to Louvre’s security protocols, they immediately alerted the police, “prioritizing the protection of people,” a statement from the French Ministry of Culture clarified.
While no one was physically harmed, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that the museum staff had been threatened by the intruders.
In their frantic escape, the thieves inadvertently dropped a magnificent crown crafted for Empress Eugénie’s appearance at the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris. This piece alone was adorned with eight gold eagles, 1,354 diamonds, 1,136 rose-cut diamonds, and 56 emeralds. The prosecutor’s office also indicated that a second, unnamed jeweled item was ‘lost or abandoned during the perpetrators’ escape.’
Before their final getaway, authorities reported that the robbers attempted to burn the basket of the electric ladder they had used to ascend.
Meanwhile, throughout the sprawling museum, staff members were urgently directing visitors towards the exits.
The very tool of their audacious entry, a furniture elevator, was seen by police outside the Louvre, a testament to the thieves’ unusual method.
Forensic teams meticulously combed the area for clues, yellow markers indicating spots of interest in the aftermath of the heist.
Joseph Sanchez, a tourist visiting from Puerto Rico, recounted being among the throngs eager to glimpse Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa when security guards suddenly began shouting for everyone to evacuate. Panic ensued, with many visitors fearing a fire or even a terrorist attack, Sanchez stated.
A travel vlogger, Sanchez captured footage of himself and his family rushing through the museum’s grand halls and down its marble staircases. After being held in the lobby for over an hour, the now-calm crowd was finally permitted to exit the building, he shared in an interview.
In the wake of the incident, the Louvre announced its closure for the remainder of the day, citing both a “security measure” and the need to “preserve traces and clues for the investigation.”
The Louvre’s significance to France, both culturally and historically, cannot be overstated.
Once a royal palace, this architectural marvel was reimagined as a museum following the French Revolution. Its labyrinthine wings and courtyards are home to over 33,000 masterpieces, ranging from ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian sculptures to iconic paintings by European masters like Jacques-Louis David and Rembrandt, alongside the exquisite antique furnishings that once graced Napoleon III’s lavish apartments.
Attracting up to 30,000 visitors daily, the Louvre holds the title of the world’s most visited museum. The sheer popularity of its star attraction, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, is so immense that President Macron had earlier this year announced plans for a dedicated room and special entrance for the masterpiece.
On Sunday, President Macron confirmed that the planned renovations would now explicitly include enhanced security measures, stating, “It will be the guarantor of the preservation and protection of what constitutes our memory and our culture.”
Throughout the day, political adversaries sharply criticized the government, alleging a failure to adequately protect the museum’s invaluable collection.
Right-wing lawmaker Éric Ciotti passionately declared on social media: “The government, in an ultimate symbol of its collapse, has allowed the Crown Jewels to be stolen! When the State no longer ensures the security of its treasures, the entire nation is threatened.”
An investigator meticulously examined the broken window on the second floor—the very point of entry for the brazen thieves.
Despite visitors being present at the time of the robbery, the museum swiftly closed its doors for the day as the investigation commenced.
Communist senator and veteran Paris councilor, Ian Brossat, highlighted that the museum had been forced to close for several hours last summer due to an unauthorized strike by employees. These workers had warned of unsustainable conditions within the overcrowded museum. Brossat demanded to know: “Why were their warnings not heard by the minister?”
The Louvre’s incident is not isolated; it follows a concerning trend of recent robberies targeting French museums.
Just last week, four men were apprehended hours after the President Jacques Chirac Museum in Corrèze was violently robbed by masked individuals wielding a shotgun and bladed weapons. Shockingly, French press reported that the same museum was targeted again less than 48 hours later.
Earlier in September, the National Museum of Natural History, located only a few subway stops from the Louvre, saw thieves abscond with raw gold nuggets valued at approximately $700,000, using a blow torch and grinder. In the same month, the Adrien Dubouché museum in Limoges reported the theft of two porcelain dishes and a vase, collectively worth around €9.5 million (or $11 million).
Arthur Brand, a 56-year-old Dutch art crime expert, expressed no surprise at the Louvre heist during a telephone interview, citing the recent surge in museum robberies. However, he emphasized that penetrating France’s most significant museum to steal its jewels “is the ultimate art heist.”
While this Sunday’s incident may go down as one of its most infamous, it is certainly not the Louvre’s first encounter with high-profile thefts.
Past incidents include a 1976 dawn break-in where three burglars scaled metal scaffolding, smashed second-floor windows, and stole a 19th-century diamond-studded sword belonging to King Charles X. In 1990, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Portrait of a Seated Woman” was brazenly cut from its frame in a third-floor gallery.
However, the most legendary theft—one that ironically propelled the Mona Lisa to global superstardom—unfolded in the summer of 1911. Vincenzo Peruggia, a museum employee, stole the iconic painting. Two years later, following extensive media coverage, Peruggia was caught attempting to sell the artwork in Italy.
The Mona Lisa, seen here returning to Paris in January 1914, less than three years after its infamous theft from the Louvre, which dramatically boosted its global recognition.
This archival image from 1976 shows scaffolding around the Louvre, a vulnerability that thieves exploited to steal King Charles X’s sword.
This wave of museum robberies isn’t exclusive to France; institutions across Europe have also experienced similar high-profile heists.
In 2019, thieves infiltrated the Green Vault rooms of Dresden, Germany’s Royal Palace museum, making off with over 100 million euros’ worth of jewels (approximately $116 million), most of which were later recovered through a plea deal. Just three years later, in 2022, a German museum suffered the loss of 483 ancient gold coins, valued at an estimated $1.7 million.
Interior Minister Nuñez stated on Sunday that security at the Louvre had been significantly enhanced in recent years.
However, he conceded to France Inter, “But we can’t prevent everything.”
Correction (Oct. 19, 2025): An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the item dropped by the Louvre robbers as a tiara. It was, in fact, a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie.