Jewellery stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris during a bold daytime robbery has been valued at €88 million (£76m; $102m), according to French prosecutors. The museum’s curator described the loss as “extraordinary,” emphasizing that the real tragedy was the blow to France’s cultural and historical heritage.
Among the eight stolen items were a diamond and emerald necklace gifted by Emperor Napoleon, a tiara worn by Empress Eugénie, and several jewels owned by Queen Marie-Amélie. The collection, often described as priceless, represented some of France’s most treasured royal artifacts.
The robbery, which lasted less than eight minutes, took place on Sunday morning shortly after the world’s most-visited museum opened its doors. Using power tools and a modified truck with a mechanical lift, four masked thieves accessed the Galerie d’Apollon through a balcony overlooking the River Seine. Two suspects cut through a glass window with a disc cutter, threatened security guards, and forced the museum to evacuate.
Investigators later discovered a damaged crown—believed to have belonged to Empress Eugénie—along the escape route, apparently dropped during the gang’s hurried exit.
Witnesses reported that the thieves attempted to set fire to their vehicle outside the museum but were stopped by quick-thinking staff before fleeing on scooters.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the heist as an “attack on France’s heritage,” while Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin admitted that security systems had “failed catastrophically.” A preliminary report revealed that one in three rooms in the Louvre lacked CCTV coverage, and the main alarm system never activated during the break-in.
Authorities suspect the gang were highly professional criminals, given their speed and precision. Experts in art recovery have warned that investigators likely had only one or two days to recover the jewels before they were dismantled and smuggled out of the country.
While some specialists believe the treasures may already have been melted down or stripped of gems, prosecutor Laure Beccuau expressed hope that revealing their immense value might deter the thieves from destroying them.
> “They will never profit from the full value of what they stole if they make the mistake of melting these jewels,” she told RTL radio.
As security tightens across France’s museums and cultural sites, investigators continue to hunt for the culprits behind what is being called the most audacious art theft in France’s modern history.
