Professional thieves stole jewels of “incalculable” value—including pieces once belonging to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie—in a brazen daylight robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, according to French officials and a New York Times report.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France Inter radio that the thieves struck around 9:30 a.m., using a cherry picker and an angle grinder to break through a window of the Galerie d’Apollon, the grand first-floor gallery that houses France’s crown jewels. The group smashed open two display cases and escaped on scooters within minutes.
Both Le Parisien and Le Monde reported that the heist lasted between seven and ten minutes.
The robbers, believed to be three masked men, used “small chainsaws” to breach the window, according to Le Parisien. Surveillance footage reportedly shows them fleeing toward the A6 highway, which runs southeast out of Paris. A third scooter was later found abandoned.
Among the nine pieces reportedly stolen were a necklace, a brooch, and a tiara thought to have belonged to Empress Eugénie. One damaged crown—believed to be hers—was discovered outside the gallery. “Beyond their market value, the items have inestimable heritage and historical value,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Forensic teams are now compiling an inventory of what was taken. The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed that an investigation has been opened and that the “extent of the losses is currently being assessed.” Police are reviewing video footage and objects abandoned by the thieves.
Police told reporters that no one was injured in the raid and that “all means are being implemented to recover the loot.” The Louvre said it remained closed Sunday “to preserve traces and clues for the investigation.”
The robbery has ignited political outrage. Jordan Bardella, president of the right-wing National Rally party, called the theft “an intolerable humiliation for our country,” adding on the social media platform X, “The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture. How far will the decay of the state go?”
The incident comes amid growing security concerns at France’s most visited museum. In June, Louvre staff staged a walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing, with unions warning that mass tourism was putting safety at risk.
The Galerie d’Apollon, overlooking the Seine, also holds treasures once owned by Louis XIV, including the 140-carat Regent Diamond. The Louvre, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, attracts nearly nine million visitors a year, with up to 30,000 daily.
France has faced a wave of museum thefts in recent months. In September, thieves stole gold nuggets worth $700,000 from Paris’s Natural History Museum, while a robbery at a porcelain museum in Limoges caused an estimated $7 million in losses. “Organized crime today is targeting art objects,” Dati said. “Museums have become targets.”
