A gang of masked thieves broke into the Louvre using chainsaws and stole several pieces of “priceless jewellery” on Sunday in an extraordinary heist in broad daylight.
France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said the group entered the Paris museum by using a large extendable mechanised ladder mounted on a lorry, similar to a cherry picker, and broke windows using small chainsaws.
The heist is reported to have occurred at 9.30am local time and lasted several minutes.
The group of three or four thieves entered the Galerie d’Apollon, which holds the remains of the French crown jewels, and made away with nine pieces of jewellery, using a scooter to escape, reports have said.
The stolen pieces are reported by several French media outlets to have belonged to Napoleon and the empress Marie-Louise – but police have not confirmed what pieces were taken.
According to French culture minister Rachida Dati, a piece of jewellery was found in the wake of the thieves’ escape. Several French media outlets are reporting that the item is a 19th-century crown belonging to Empress Eugenie – the wife of Napoleon III – and has been found broken.
Ms Nuñez told radio station France Inter that the “major robbery” was over in seven minutes and that the gang had “entered from outside with a cherry picker” to steal "priceless jewellery”.
She added that "clearly a team that had been scouting” the building.
The ministry later said the precise value of the stolen objects was being calculated, but described them as items of “inestimable” historical value.
The Parisian public prosecutor’s office also confirmed it has opened an investigation into suspected “organised theft and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime”.
It said there has been a “theft of jewellery” at the Louvre and that the investigation is being supported by an investigative service that fights illegal trafficking of cultural goods.
“The damage is currently being assessed,” the prosecutor’s office said. “Investigations are ongoing,” it added.
Ms Dati posted on X (Twitter) on Sunday morning: “A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the @MuseeLouvre. No injuries to report. I am on site alongside the museum teams and the police. Investigations underway.”
Members of the public were evacuated from the Louvre this morning. According to the BBC, French police have sealed off access to the Louvre museum, including one major road along the riverbank in front of it.
The museum said on social media on Sunday morning that it would remain closed for the day for “exceptional reasons.”
Videos of the evacuation scenes have emerged showing tourists being ushered out of the museum and surrounding courtyards.
Security and members of the public locked inside the Louvre after its robbery today #louvre #paris #robbery pic.twitter.com/ai6v4htlmy
— tom (@whatyouthinktom) October 19, 2025
One member of the public posted a video on X of security guards inside the building, behind locked gates.
The Galerie d’Apollon, where the theft took place, contains remaining pieces of the French crown jewels, which sit under a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV’s court artist.
The Louvre, which attracts nearly 9 million tourists a year, is home to some of history's most iconic works of art, and is most well-known for having Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
Des questions devront aussi se poser.
— Ian Brossat 🍉 (@IanBrossat) October 19, 2025
Le 16 juin dernier, le musée était fermé plusieurs heures en raison d’une grève des salariés qui alertaient sur le manque de personnel pour assurer la sécurité.
Pourquoi leurs alertes n’ont pas été entendues par la ministre ?
Posting on X, French Communist Party senator Ian Brossat said that on 16 June 16, the museum was closed for several hours “due to a staff strike, as employees were raising the alarm about the lack of personnel to ensure security”.
