Everything we know about the Louvre jewellery heist

The Louvre Museum in Paris remains closed on Monday while police investigate a theft targeting the priceless French Crown Jewels.

Thieves using power tools broke into the world’s most visited museum in broad daylight, before fleeing on motorbikes with eight pieces of extremely valuable jewellery.

Here’s what we know about the crime that stunned France.

The theft occurred on Sunday between 09:30 and 09:40 local time (08:30 and 08:40 GMT), shortly after the museum opened to visitors.

Four thieves used a mechanical elevator mounted on a vehicle to access the Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo Gallery) via a balcony near the Seine River.

Pictures from the scene showed a ladder mounted on a vehicle leading to a window on the first floor.

Two thieves cut the glass panels using a battery-powered disc cutter and entered the museum.

They then threatened guards who evacuated the building, and stole items from two glass display cabinets.

A preliminary report revealed that one out of every three rooms in the raided museum area did not contain surveillance cameras, according to French media.

Nathalie Goulet, a member of the French Senate’s Finance Committee, said this was a “very painful” episode for France.

“We are all disappointed and angry, and it is difficult to understand how this happened so easily,” she said.

Gullett told the BBC that the local alarm system at the exhibition had recently malfunctioned, and “we have to wait for the investigation to find out whether the alarm has been disabled.”

The French Ministry of Culture said that wider alarms were sounded in the museum and that staff followed protocol by contacting security forces and protecting visitors.

The cut jewelry “will be used in a money laundering scheme,” Gullett said.

She added: “I don’t think we are facing amateurs. This is organized crime and they have no morals at all. They do not value jewelry as a piece of history, just as a way to clean out their dirty money.”

The Ministry of Culture added that the gang tried to set fire to their car outside, but the intervention of a museum employee prevented them from doing so.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati told French news outlet TF1 that footage of the robbery showed the masked thieves “calmly” entering and smashing the display cabinets containing the jewellery. No one was injured in the accident.

She described the robbers as “experienced” who appeared to have a well-prepared plan to escape on two motorcycles.

About 60 investigators are working on the case, and prosecutors said their theory is that the robbers were under orders from a criminal organization.

Four suspects are being sought and investigators are studying surveillance camera footage from the escape route.

On Monday, the museum was still closed.

One witness described scenes of “total panic” as the museum was evacuated. Later photos showed the entrances closed with metal gates.

According to authorities, eight items were confiscated, including tiaras (jeweled headbands), necklaces, earrings, and brooches. They all date back to the 19th century and were once owned by French kings or imperial governors.

The French Ministry of Culture said that the stolen pieces are:

• Tiara and brooch belong to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III
• An emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from Empress Marie Louise
• One tiara, necklace and earring from the ruby ​​collection that was owned by Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• Brooch known as “Brooch of Holy Relics”

Between them, these pieces are adorned with thousands of diamonds and other precious stones.

Two other items, including Empress Eugenie’s tiara, were found near the scene and appeared to have been dropped during the escape. The authorities are examining it for damage.

Nunez described the stolen jewelry as “priceless” and of “invaluable heritage value.”

“There is a race going,” said Chris Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International.

Tiaras and crowns can easily be disassembled and sold in small parts.

Marinello said that the thieves “will not keep it intact, but will break it, melt the precious metals, re-cut the precious stones, and hide the evidence of their crime.”

He said it would be difficult to sell this jewelry intact.

Earlier this year, Louvre officials requested help from the French government to restore and renovate the museum’s old exhibition halls and better protect its artwork.

At the time, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to redesign the Louvre as part of the New Renaissance project, which is expected to cost between €700 million and €800 million.British pounds£608 million – £695 million; $816 million – $933 million). The project includes security enhancements.

The theft sparked political outrage in France, with Macron calling the raid “an attack on our history,” National Rally leader Jordan Bardella saying it was an “unbearable insult,” and Marine Le Pen of the National Front calling it “a wound in the French soul.”

In 1911, an Italian museum employee managed to steal the Mona Lisa from under his coat after lifting the painting – then unknown to the public – directly from the wall of a quiet gallery.

It was recovered two years later, and the perpetrator later said the motive was the belief that Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece belonged to Italy.

There are fewer opportunities to handle the Mona Lisa these days: the painting, perhaps the most famous in the museum’s collection, hangs in a heavily guarded glass chamber.

In 1998, Le Chemin de Sevres, a 19th-century painting by Camille Corot, was stolen and never found. The incident prompted an overhaul of museum security.

There has been a recent spate of thefts targeting French museums.

Last month, thieves broke into the Adrien Duboche Museum in Limoges and stole ceramics said to be worth €9.5 million ($11 million/£8.25 million).

In November 2024, seven objects of “great historical and heritage value” were stolen from the Cognac-Gaye Museum in the capital. Five of them were recovered a few days ago.

In the same month, armed robbers raided the Heron Museum in Burgundy, opening fire before fleeing with 20th-century art worth millions of pounds.