2025 Louvre robbery

Apollo Galery, The Louvre, Paris.

On 19 October 2025, thieves disguised as construction workers stole eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels from the Galerie d'Apollon (Apollo's Gallery) of the Louvre in Paris, France. The robbery took less than ten minutes and happened during regular opening hours. It was the first art theft from the Louvre since the 1998 theft of the painting Le chemin de Sèvres.

Background

The 16th-century Galerie d'Apollon within the Louvre displayed what remained of the French Crown Jewels, including the Crown of Louis XV and the Hortensia diamond.[5]

The first documented theft from the Louvre occurred in 1911, when Vincenzo Peruggia, a former employee of the museum, stole the Mona Lisa (it was recovered two years later in Italy).[6] In 1998, the Le chemin de Sèvres painting by Camille Corot was stolen and has not yet been found. At the time, Louvre's museum director, Pierre Rosenberg warned that the museum's security was "fragile". Another Louvre director, Laurence des Cars, asked the Paris police to conduct a security audit of the museum. Although recommendations were made after the audit, they were only beginning to be implemented at the time of the 2025 robbery. According to labour unions, Louvre's security had been undermined by staff reductions, while museum attendance has soared. The SUD union issued a statement on 19 October 2025, complaining of "the destruction of security jobs" at the Louvre.

In January 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans for a renovation and expansion of the Louvre. The planned renovation and expansion was a result of the increasing number of visitors each year to the Louvre. On 16 June 2025, the museum's employees went on strike in protest against chronic issues such as overcrowding, understaffing and "untenable" working conditions.

In the 2020s, other French museums were also targeted and had items stolen, including the Adrien Dubouche Museum in September 2025 and the Cognacq-Jay Museum and the Hiéron Museum [fr], both in November 2024.

Theft

The robbery occurred at about 9:30 a.m. CEST, 30 minutes after the museum opened to visitors.[12][13] The thieves arrived at the building and entered from the Seine side, bringing tools. The burglars were wearing yellow and orange vests to disguise themselves as construction workers.[13] Two members of the crew,[14] with their faces concealed with balaclavas,[12] gained entry to a first-floor[13][11] balcony of the building's south side using a monte-meuble, a vehicle-mounted electric hoist commonly used in Paris to move furniture in or out of a building via an upper-story window.[14]

Once they gained access using the hoist's platform,[1] they used a disc cutter[13] to cut through a glass window to access the Galerie d'Apollon, triggering security alarms.[14] After threatening the guards with their power tools, the thieves took nine pieces from two glass display cases,[11][15] then left the museum by descending the hoist's ladder to two other members of the crew,[14] who were waiting on motor scooters.[16] During their exit, they dropped the Crown of Empress Eugénie in the street, reducing their haul to eight items.[17] They attempted to set fire to the basket of the vehicle-mounted lift before fleeing, but a museum staffer prevented them from doing so.[14] The thieves fled along the banks of the Seine to the Boulevard Périphérique and then took the A6 autoroute southwards.[18][19] The entire theft took no more than seven minutes.[15]

The museum was evacuated and closed for the rest of the day[20][21] and into the following day of Monday, 20 October,[22] with a notice on its website stating: "The Musée du Louvre will remain closed today for exceptional reasons. All reservations for today's date will be reimbursed. We apologise for the inconvenience."[23][24]

Items Stolen

The items were identified by the Ministry of Culture as:

   *The tiara, necklace, and an earring of Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily and Hortense de Beauharnais from the Queen Maria Amalia sapphire set [fr].
   *The emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from the Empress Marie Louise set.
   *The reliquary brooch, a large corsage bow brooch, and the tiara of Empress Eugénie de Montijo.[25][26]

The collection's most famous item, the Regent Diamond, valued at over US$60 million,[12] was left in place. While fleeing, the robbers dropped the Crown of Empress Eugénie, which was found damaged, though the extent of the damage has not been revealed. The Paris prosecutor's office said that a second jewelled item had also been dropped but did not say what it was.[14]

Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that "The Louvre curator estimated the damages to be €88 million" but also added that "the greater loss was to France's historical heritage".[27][28][29]

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