The Louvre Robbed: Seven Minutes to Strip a Piece of French History

The Louvre Museum in Paris was the victim of a spectacular robbery this Sunday, October 19, 2025, between 9:30 AM and 9:40 AM, half an hour after its opening. According to the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, several perpetrators managed to break into the Apollo Gallery, a famous room on the first floor of the Denon wing where the French Crown Jewels are exhibited.

According to the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, nine jewels of inestimable heritage value were stolen. One of them, Empress Eugénie's crown, was found broken outside the museum.

From a truck parked on Quai François-Mitterrand, four helmeted men dressed in yellow vests placed construction cones and deployed a furniture lift, which allowed them to directly access a gallery window, which they broke. Armed with an angle grinder, they cut open two display cases: one containing jewels from the Second Empire (1852–1870) and another with jewels of the sovereigns (1800–1852). They then fled on scooters, abandoning a blanket, gloves, a yellow vest, and portable radios. The operation lasted seven minutes.

From the Second Empire jewels display case, the thieves took four ornaments belonging to Empress Eugénie: her crown, her pearl and diamond-set tiara, her large diamond-adorned bodice knot, and her diamond brooch-pendant. Only her pearl and diamond shoulder brooch was spared.

From the sovereigns' jewels display case (1800–1852), the burglars stole Empress Marie-Louise's necklace and earrings, as well as the tiara, necklace, and one earring from the sapphire and diamond parure of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense. The other exhibited pieces, including Joséphine de Beauharnais's ear pendants and the Duchess of Angoulême's jewels, were not stolen.

The thieves did not force open the third display case containing the Crown Jewels of France from 1530 to 1789, which notably houses the 'Le Régent' diamond, weighing 140.64 carats.

An investigation for organized theft and criminal conspiracy has been entrusted to the Anti-Gang Brigade (BRB), with the support of the Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Property (OCBC).

According to a source cited by journalist Didier Rykner on LCI, the French window used by the thieves had an alarm problem for several months, often deactivated due to untimely triggers. However, the Ministry of Culture affirmed that the alarm had functioned correctly.

This robbery occurs in a context of multiple recent thefts in French museums: porcelains stolen from the Adrien Dubouché Museum in Limoges, gold specimens stolen from the National Museum of Natural History, and 18th-century snuffboxes pilfered from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in 2024.

The Louvre Museum announced on its X account:

'The Louvre Museum will remain closed today for exceptional reasons.'