PARIS — In a brazen daylight robbery that stunned France, thieves made off with a collection of Napoleonic-era jewels from the Louvre Museum on Sunday morning, executing what officials have called a “major robbery” in just seven minutes.
According to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, the robbers gained access to the museum at around 9:30 a.m. through the under-construction Seine-facing facade, using a hydraulic ladder to reach the famed Apollo Gallery, home to the French Crown Jewels collection.
“They used a disc cutter to slice through the windowpanes and appeared to have conducted careful reconnaissance beforehand,” Nunez said. “The operation lasted only seven minutes — swift, coordinated, and clearly professional.”
The thieves reportedly escaped with nine pieces of “priceless jewellery” belonging to the ‘Napoleon and the Empress’ collection, according to Le Parisien. One of the stolen jewels was later recovered just outside the museum, but the rest remain missing.
The Louvre, which draws up to 30,000 visitors a day, was immediately closed for the day for “exceptional reasons.” Barricades were set up outside the museum, and Paris police cordoned off surrounding streets as investigators combed the scene for evidence.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who arrived on site shortly after the theft, confirmed no injuries were reported. “We are with museum staff and police to assess the full extent of the damage,” she said.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation, working with anti-organized crime units to determine whether the robbery was commissioned by private collectors or part of a larger criminal network specializing in high-value art thefts.
The Louvre, the world’s most visited museum and guardian of treasures such as the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, has endured several thefts in its long history. The most famous remains the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa, stolen by an Italian handyman and recovered two years later in Florence.
The last significant theft at the Louvre occurred in 1983, when two pieces of Renaissance armour disappeared — only to be recovered nearly four decades later, in 2021.
Sunday’s high-profile heist has reignited debates about security at France’s most iconic cultural institution — and the vulnerability of the world’s priceless art and heritage in the face of increasingly sophisticated crime.