Brazen Daylight Heist at the Louvre: Thieves Steal Priceless French Crown Jewels
- Robert Buratti
- Oct 21, 2025
- 3 min read
Paris — In a stunning display of audacity and precision, four masked thieves executed a seven-minute robbery at the world-famous Louvre Museum on Sunday morning, making off with nine pieces of France's historic crown jewels from the museum's Galerie d'Apollon.
The robbery occurred around 9:30 a.m. on October 19, just after the museum had opened to the public, when the thieves — disguised as workers in yellow vests — used a truck-mounted furniture lift to scale the building and break through a second-floor window using angle grinders.
The Heist
The operation was executed with military precision: the thieves deployed the lift, secured the area with construction cones to avoid suspicion, then cut through a glass window to access the Galerie d'Apollon. Once inside, they threatened guards with their power tools, smashed two display cases, and grabbed their loot before escaping down the ladder to accomplices waiting below on Yamaha TMAX motor scooters.
Museum security attempted to stop the thieves from setting fire to the basket lift as they fled, successfully preventing the destruction of evidence. The entire museum was evacuated and remained closed for the rest of Sunday and Monday.
What Was Stolen
The French Ministry of Culture released a list of eight items confirmed stolen, including two brooches, two diadems (jeweled royal headpieces), two necklaces, and two pairs of earrings. Among the most significant pieces:
A diamond and sapphire jewelry set featuring a tiara and necklace worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, with the diadem containing 24 Ceylon sapphires and 1,083 diamonds that can be detached and worn as brooches
An emerald necklace and earrings set that was a wedding gift from Napoleon to his second wife, Marie-Louise of Austria, in March 1810, containing 32 intricately cut emeralds and 1,138 diamonds
The reliquary brooch of Empress Eugénie
One item — the crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, an ornate gold piece featuring 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds — was dropped or left behind by the thieves, though it was damaged during the heist.
Official Response
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the theft on social media, calling it "an attack on a heritage we cherish because it is part of our history," and vowed that "we will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice."
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the value of the stolen goods as "incalculable," calling it a "major robbery." Minister of Culture Rachida Dati noted the brazenness of the operation: "We saw some footage: they don't target people, they enter calmly in four minutes, smash display cases, take their loot, and leave."
Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated that investigators have not ruled out foreign interference as a possible line of inquiry, keeping all leads open.
Security Concerns
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin admitted the heist exposed security failings at the museum, questioning why the windows hadn't been secured and why a basket lift was allowed on a public road in such close proximity to the building.
Security experts expressed concern about the increasingly aggressive nature of museum thefts, with thieves targeting not prized paintings but artifacts that can be dismantled, stripped, or melted down for their valuable components. Art recovery expert Christopher Marinello warned that if the thieves are seeking quick cash, they might melt down the precious metals or recut the stones with no regard for the pieces' historical integrity.
Historical Context
This marks the first art theft at the Louvre since 1998, when a painting by Camille Corot was stolen. The museum's most famous heist occurred in 1911 when Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian handyman who had worked at the Louvre, stole the Mona Lisa by simply taking it off the wall and walking out with it hidden under his smock. The theft went unnoticed for 28 hours, and the painting was only recovered two years later.
The museum has faced operational challenges in recent years, with staff reporting chronic understaffing — the equivalent of 200 positions cut over the past 15 years from a workforce of nearly 2,000.
As authorities continue their manhunt for the four suspects, the stolen treasures remain missing, and experts warn they may never be recovered intact. The audacious daylight robbery has sent shockwaves through the international museum community and raised urgent questions about security measures at even the world's most prestigious cultural institutions.
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