FRANCE, Paris, Robbery at the Louve, Oct 19, 2025

[Inthedetails]

they made their escape on ... a... scooter? that is hilarious.

Reminds me of the wheelchair chase scene in the Mr. Bean movie, Johnny English (the only chase scene I've ever liked, lol).

 

[Sundog]

MSN

Everything to Know About the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery, the Site of the Jewelry Heist

Birds continued their Sunday morning patter as the window was forced open with the use of a saw, and a reported two to three people entered, took a freight elevator to the second floor, smashed displays, grabbed the jewels (nine pieces from a 23-piece collection associated with Napoleon and the Empress, whose crown was later found), and fled the same way they’d come. “It was among the highest-profile museum thefts in recent memory,” reported the AP, ranking as one of “Europe’s most audacious since Dresden’s Green Vault museum in 2019, and the most serious in France in more than a decade.”

EBM

 

[Sundog]

MSN

When art imitates life, and then life imitates a heist film​

As the Associated Press reported, the robbery took place Sunday morning just steps from the Mona Lisa. The stolen items included sapphire and emerald sets once worn by Napoleon’s wives and Empress Eugénie’s diamond corsage brooch. One piece — Eugénie’s emerald crown — was later found outside the museum, broken. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati called it a “professional four-minute operation.”

No one was injured, but the embarrassment runs deep. The Louvre, already under fire for overcrowding and staff shortages, is now confronting how a “daylight heist” could unfold inside the world’s most famous museum in Paris.

For pop culture fans, though, the plot feels familiar. The pilot episode of Netflix’s original show Lupin centers around a Louvre jewel robbery, a modern French TV show inspired by Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman thief. In Ocean’s 8, an all-female crew lifts diamonds at the Met Gala. From The Thomas Crown Affair to Inside Man, audiences adore the art of the steal.

 

[LadyL]

So they broke into the Louvre and had at least a few minutes inside, maybe up to 6 or 7, without being detected/approached by guards in the museum. That is interesting to me. I know it's a huge museum.

Seems amazing to me that they could scale the ladder to the building, break into the window, enter the museum, break into the area where the jewels were being kept and no one was outside waiting on them when they came out. Are there no alarm systems and outside guards? I would think that a museum with that broad collection of rare jewels and art would have a state of the art security system. These thieves knew the vulnerable areas. I bet we will also have more photos of them, someone arranged for the truck and ladder, the scooters...Crazy!

Chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau told BFM that the men were a 'strike team' who threatened museum guards with the angle grinders which they used to cut the glass booths.

Though Ms Beccuau confirmed the Louvre's alarms were functioning at the time, she said there remains questions over whether it sounded in the gallery when the theft was taking place.

Moment 'thief in a hi-viz' breaks into glass cabinet at Louvre

A gang of several 'highly organised criminals' arrived outside the world's most visited museum at around 9.30am local time on Sunday while thousands of tourists enjoyed a day out in Paris.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[LadyL]

imagine the person commissioning this theft - they can never sell it or display it - only keep it in a hidden room

 

[Charlot123]

Additionally, from same link:

It comes just weeks after thieves stole several gold nuggets from Paris’ Natural History Museum.

Sorry, do Paris museums have cameras? Ladt time i have been to Louvre, all halls had museum caretakers. Any possibility of an inside helper?

On the other hand, why would they leave a necklace, even broken? (Some museums have replicas on display. The thieves might know more about the gems then.)

I hope French police is handling the broken necklace and all the stuff the thieves left in gloves. Also, remembering an old Japanese case...are there any fibers left on the glass through which they got inside?

JMO, these things were ordered, and probably, via some known antiques dealer. It might be kept in a freeport now. Luxembourg, Geneve or somewhere in UK. I don't know if they have any in France. This is an interesting history.

Behind Closed Doors: A Look At Freeports - Center for Art Law

By Talia Berniker. In September 2020, Arcis, the first freeport in New York City announced its closing after being open for just two years, and that clients had until October 31, 2020 to retrieve artworks stored at the Harlem storing facilities.[1] While the reasons for the closing of this...

itsartlaw.org

 

[Inthedetails]

The museum remains closed today, Oct 20, the day after the theft.

Louvre Museum Remains Closed After Jewelry Robbery: What to Know

A stunning heist has raised uncomfortable questions about security at the famed Paris museum.

www.nytimes.com

 

[steeltowngirl]

Netflix will already be planning the film!

It would make a great theme for a return season of Sneaky Pete!

 

[Skigh]

It would make a great theme for a return season of Sneaky Pete!

For those old enough to remember ,maybe the Pink Panther.

 

[Lucy6226]

Absolutely brazen in broad daylight. Clearly stolen to order for some collector somewhere, they wouldn't exactly be able to pass them off to an unsuspecting antiques dealer!

 

[steeltowngirl]

For those old enough to remember ,maybe the Pink Panther.

 

[Charlot123]

Absolutely brazen in broad daylight. Clearly stolen to order for some collector somewhere, they wouldn't exactly be able to pass them off to an unsuspecting antiques dealer!

Honestly, it is “the provenance” that costs most. The poorly cut stones, the migrain that looks as if cut with a jigsaw. The imperfections and the time. So yes, I think it was an ordered steal. Another theory: maybe the stones from the pieces were quietly stolen long ago, during restorations or inspections and now they planned an expo. Abu Dhabi has an affiliate of Louvre. So…pieces were stolen to conceal prior thefts?

 

[vls12345]

Everything we know about the Louvre jewellery heist

The world-famous museum in Paris is still closed on Monday after a masked gang raided one of its galleries.

www.bbc.com

A preliminary report has revealed that one in three rooms in the area of the museum raided had no CCTV cameras, according to French media.

Goulet told the BBC the gallery's localised alarm was recently broken, and "we have to wait for the investigation in order to know if the alarm was disactivated".

France's ministry of culture said the stolen items were:

• A tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III
• An emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from Empress Marie Louise
• A tiara, necklace and single earring from the sapphire set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• A brooch known as the "reliquary brooch"

 

[vls12345]

This article includes photos of the pieces which were stolen.

Stolen treasures, a crown dropped as thieves fled - and serious questions for Louvre security

The most spectacular Louvre robbery since the Mona Lisa in 1911 proves the vulnerability of French museums, writes Hugh Schofield.

www.bbc.com

 

[vls12345]

2025 Louvre robbery - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[PrairieWind]

I understand that Inspector Clouseau is on the scene now, and is examining the wax. "Wax is not wax."

 

[Inthedetails]

An art thief chimes in, and he suggests the thieves wait a few years and then, essentially, offer to sell the items back to the museum. In his own crime, he says, "I not only had my charges dismissed, but I got a cash reward."

Famous American art thief Myles Connor reacts to Louvre Museum heist: 'They will be vilified'

Myles Connor walked into the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and walked out with a Rembrandt painting in the 1980s.

abcnews.go.com

 

[OldCop]

This article first linked to by @vls12345 contains some of the most interesting information we have on this theft:

Everything we know about the Louvre jewellery heist

The world-famous museum in Paris is still closed on Monday after a masked gang raided one of its galleries.

www.bbc.com

The thieves brought the truck with the freight lift. ( I had originally thought they had taken advantage of construction equipment at the scene due to some type of work going on at the museum.) They apparently tried to set it ablaze before they left the scene, but were confronted by a museum staffer and fled on the scooters.
The thieves actually had a confrontation with guards once they got into the building and warded them off with the angle cutter. The guards then began the evacuation of visitors. (And presumably notified LE). There was a lot of confusion.
The thieves were methodical and calm as they broke into the display cases which held the jewels. They took certain pieces and left others from this particular collection. They may have been working on contract. I bet whoever dropped that most valuable crown is in hot water.
The alarm system in that section was either deactivated or broken and the cctv cameras were not working in one of the three rooms accessed by the thieves. Wow. What a coincidence!

I think the truck with the freight lift will probably be the best piece of evidence for LE.
The thieves were able to pull this off, but they were also pretty sloppy.

 

[bestill]

Gob smacked that the cctv is only in certain rooms with such rarities housed there along with the alarm system in that section not working. The museum is fortunate that this heist wasn't worse, imo.

Trying to burn the truck tells me that there may be a way to trace them from it. Can't wait to hear how they got it and what evidence was recovered from it. I wonder what investigators will release to the public?

 

[Inthedetails]

This article first linked to by @vls12345 contains some of the most interesting information we have on this theft:

Everything we know about the Louvre jewellery heist

The world-famous museum in Paris is still closed on Monday after a masked gang raided one of its galleries.

www.bbc.com

The thieves brought the truck with the freight lift. ( I had originally thought they had taken advantage of construction equipment at the scene due to some type of work going on at the museum.) They apparently tried to set it ablaze before they left the scene, but were confronted by a museum staffer and fled on the scooters.
The thieves actually had a confrontation with guards once they got into the building and warded them off with the angle cutter. The guards then began the evacuation of visitors. (And presumably notified LE). There was a lot of confusion.
The thieves were methodical and calm as they broke into the display cases which held the jewels. They took certain pieces and left others from this particular collection. They may have been working on contract. I bet whoever dropped that most valuable crown is in hot water.
The alarm system in that section was either deactivated or broken and the cctv cameras were not working in one of the three rooms accessed by the thieves. Wow. What a coincidence!

I think the truck with the freight lift will probably be the best piece of evidence for LE.
The thieves were able to pull this off, but they were also pretty sloppy.

Could they have wanted to set fire to the truck to keep attention on THAT, allowing them to escape, rather than because they wanted to burn evidence? When there is a fire, that gets the active attention.

jmopinion