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

[PrairieWind]

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

I wondered the same, the purpose of the fire was divert attention to the fire (which could spread) to delay pursuing them. But I also believe that lift will be a big clue to identifying the thieves. But they could also already be out of Europe by now.

I don't think the purpose of the robbery was to break up the stones and melt down the metals. I think these items were stolen for someone's collection OR to be ransom for something else. At least I hope so. It makes me sick to think that they are being melted down right now!

 

[StarryStarryNight]

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.

I’m guessing the museum guards are unarmed since they were kept at bay by an angle cutter.
Mindboggling lax security for a museum that houses such valuable items.
These thieves had to have had at least some knowledge of the museum’s security protocols to know they would not be aggressively challenged by anybody.
I realize it only took about seven minutes, but, by accounts, the museum itself was made aware fairly quickly, and my assumption would be the police were notified immediately also. Yet these crooks climb down a ladder and hop on scooters and nobody spots them getting away. That’s mindboggling too.
Epic fail by museum security and LE.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

I wondered the same, the purpose of the fire was divert attention to the fire (which could spread) to delay pursuing them. But I also believe that lift will be a big clue to identifying the thieves. But they could also already be out of Europe by now.

I don't think the purpose of the robbery was to break up the stones and melt down the metals. I think these items were stolen for someone's collection OR to be ransom for something else. At least I hope so. It makes me sick to think that they are being melted down right now!

I totally agree with you about this being a theft contracted by a collector.
If the thieves melt everything down and sell the gems individually, that would be no better than just robbing a jewelry store, so why take the extra risk.
I think it would be nearly impossible to shop them around complete without being found out.
It makes sense that they treasures would be sitting in somebody’s private collection right now, but people are crazy so who knows.

 

[bestill]

I agree with those posting that they believe this was a contracted collectors theft. Very specific items stolen. Would be interesting to be investigating to find a connection between the former owners, jewelry makers, specific collectors, etc...I bet high end jewelers have already been visited. They know their clientele. All jmo

 

[meanmaryjean]

Well, all I know is the Muppets have been REAL quiet lately...

The Great Muppet Caper (1981) ⭐ 7.1 | Adventure, Comedy, Crime

1h 37m | G

www.imdb.com

 

[Inthedetails]

Well, all I know is the Muppets have been REAL quiet lately...

The Great Muppet Caper (1981) ⭐ 7.1 | Adventure, Comedy, Crime

1h 37m | G

www.imdb.com

 

[bestill]

Stolen Louvre jewels were not privately insured, French government says

The French government will not be reimbursed for any losses related to the priceless jewels, according to experts.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Dotta]

From my country's MSM

"The Louvre theft was dubbed
the 'heist of the century',
and the Louvre's management
asked an Israeli business intelligence and consulting firm
for help in identifying the perpetrators
of Sunday's robbery at the Paris museum.

According to French media,
there were four perpetrators:
two disguised as construction workers wearing yellow safety vests,
and two others each with a scooter.

The robbery targeted a total of nine items, eight of which were stolen.
The thieves dropped a ninth item,
the crown of Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie,
as they fled."

"Skok stulecia" na Luwr. W siedem minut skradziono biżuterię wartą majątek [WIDEO]

W minioną niedzielę doszło do zuchwałej kradzieży w Luwrze. Z Galerie d'Apollon skradziono osiem bezcennych klejnotów. Była wśród nich tiara cesarzowej Eugenii, ozdobiona 2 tys. diamentów oraz dwa ...

businessinsider.com.pl

 

[Dotta]

More from my country's MSM

"Media: Jewels were not insured.​

The jewels stolen from the Louvre were not insured
due to their priceless historical value,
French media report.

As the daily Le Parisien pointed out,
the eight jewels stolen from the museum on Sunday are State property
and the State bears responsibility for them.

As Le Figaro newspaper points out,
the jewels have 'National Collection Status',
meaning their care is defined by the Heritage Code
—a set of laws governing National Heritage.

This status means
the jewels cannot be legally sold, donated, or inherited,
even after a long period of time.

French Ministry of Culture:
'Such assets are not insured'.

Moreover,
the jewels were located in a museum.

The French Ministry of Culture explained that they do not insure these assets
because their costs are astronomical
and the risk of damage, however, is small.

Works of art are often insured when they are loaned to other institutions,
as this makes estimating the cost of such an arrangement much easier."

Kradzież w Luwrze. Media: Klejnoty nie były ubezpieczone

Klejnoty skradzione z Luwru nie były ubezpieczone z powodu ich bezcennej wartości historycznej - podają francuskie media. Jak zaznaczył dziennik "Le Parisien", osiem klejnotów, skradzionych w niedzielę z muzeum...

wiadomosci.wp.pl

 

[PrairieWind]

Just stunning. "We don't insure them because the costs would be astronomical" But apparantly the guards are not armed and were chased away by one man with a saw.