Everything we know about the Louvre jewel heist

The Louvre Museum in Paris remained closed on Monday as police investigated a brazen heist targeting France’s priceless gems.

Thieves armed with power tools broke into the world’s most visited museum in broad daylight before fleeing on scooters with eight extremely valuable jewels.

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

The gang reportedly arrived at 09:30 local time, shortly after the museum opened to visitors.

Four suspects arrived in a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) through a balcony near the Seine River.

Photos from the scene show a staircase leading to a first-floor window.

Two of the thieves broke in by cutting the window with power tools.

They then threatened the guards, who evacuated the premises, and cut the glass of two display cases with jewels.

A preliminary report revealed that one in three rooms in the raided museum area did not have CCTV cameras, according to French media.

French police said the thieves were inside for four minutes and fled on two scooters waiting outside at 09:38.

It is a “very painful” episode for France, said Nathalie Goulet, a member of the French Senate’s finance committee.

“We’re all disappointed and angry,” she said, and it’s “hard to understand how it happened so easily.”

Goulet told the BBC that the gallery’s localized alarm had recently been damaged and “we have to wait for the investigation to find out if the alarm was disabled”.

France’s culture ministry said wider alarms at the museum went off and staff followed protocol by contacting security forces and protecting visitors.

The gang tried to set fire to their vehicle from outside but were prevented by the intervention of a museum employee, the culture ministry added.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati told French media outlet TF1 that footage of the theft showed the masked thieves entering “calmly” and smashing the display cases containing the jewels. No one was injured in the incident.

She described the thieves as seemingly “experienced” with a well-prepared escape plan on two scooters.

About 60 investigators are working on the case, and prosecutors said their theory is that the robbers were at the behest of a criminal organization.

Four suspects are being sought and investigators are reviewing CCTV footage from the escape route.

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

According to authorities, eight items were taken, including tiaras (bejeweled headbands), necklaces, earrings and brooches. All are from the 19th century and once belonged to French royalty or imperial rulers.

France’s culture ministry said the stolen items were:

• Tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III
• An emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from the Empress Maria Louisa
• Tiara, necklace and single earring from the sapphire set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• A brooch known as a “reliquary brooch”

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

Empress Eugenia’s crown was found damaged along the escape route, investigators said, apparently dropped during the escape.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunes described the stolen jewelery as “priceless” and “of immeasurable heritage value”.

“It’s a race right now,” said Chris Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International.

Crowns and tiaras can easily be broken and sold in small pieces.

Thieves “won’t keep them intact, they’ll smash them, melt the precious metal, recut the precious stones and hide evidence of their crime,” Marinello said.

It would be difficult to sell these jewels intact, he said.

Earlier this year, Louvre officials asked the French government for help to restore and renovate the museum’s aging exhibition halls and better protect its artworks.

At the time, French President Emmanuel Macron promised the Louvre would be redesigned as part of the New Renaissance project – expected to cost between €700 and €800 million (£608 million – £695 million; $816 million – $933 million). The project includes increased security.

The Louvre remains closed Monday while the investigation into the robbery continues.

In a statement on its website, the museum said visitors who had already booked tickets would be automatically refunded.

Police and security personnel could be seen around the entrance to the famous glass pyramid on Monday. Metal barriers have also been installed.

No word has been given on when the museum might reopen to the public.

The Louvre is always closed on Tuesdays, so at the earliest this week it will be able to reopen on Wednesday.

The theft sparked political outrage in France, with Macron calling the attack “an attack on our history”, National Unity leader Jordan Bardela saying it was an “intolerable humiliation” and Marine Le Pen of the National Front calling it a “wound to the French soul”.

In 1911, an Italian museum worker managed to escape with the Mona Lisa under his coat after lifting the painting – then little known to the public – straight off the wall of a quiet gallery.

It was recovered after two years, and the culprit later said he was motivated by the belief that Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece belonged in Italy.

These days, fewer risks are taken with the Mona Lisa: the painting, perhaps the most famous in the museum’s collection, hangs in a high-security glass compartment.

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

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

Last month, thieves broke into the Musée Adrien Dubuch in Limoges and stole porcelain works believed to be worth 9.5 million euros ($11 million / £8.25 million).

In November 2024, seven objects of “great historical and cultural value” were stolen from the Cognacq-Jay museum in the capital. Five were found a few days ago.

That same month, armed thieves broke into the Hieron museum in Burgundy, shooting before making off with millions of pounds worth of 20th-century art.