French authorities have launched a major investigation after thieves stole jewels of 'inestimable value' from the Louvre Museum.
Thieves carried out a bold daylight robbery at Paris’s Louvre Museum on Sunday morning, escaping with royal jewels described by French authorities as being of “inestimable value”.
The heist unfolded around 9:30 a.m., just as the world’s most visited museum was preparing to open its doors.
According to France’s Interior Ministry, several intruders used a basket lift to scale the building, forced open a window and smashed display cases in the Galerie d’Apollon – home to the French Crown Jewels – before fleeing on motor scooters.
The entire operation lasted just seven minutes.
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The Louvre was swiftly sealed off as police moved in, evacuating visitors and closing nearby streets.
“A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed on X, while the museum cited “exceptional reasons” for shutting its doors for the day.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who visited the scene alongside Dati and museum officials, described the incident on France Inter radio as a “major robbery”.
He said the thieves had “clearly done their scouting” and used professional tools, including a disc cutter to slice through the display glass.
Le Parisien reported that the gang entered through the museum’s Seine-facing facade, where construction work is underway, and even used a freight elevator to reach the gallery.
Early findings suggest nine pieces were taken, including jewels from the collections of Napoleon and Empress Eugénie.
Dati later told the TF1 television that one of the stolen pieces had been recovered near the museum. “One of the jewellery items was found near the Louvre,” she said.
In a curious twist, the item retrieved is believed to be Empress Eugénie’s crown, reportedly damaged during the thieves’ rapid escape.
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Investigators comb the scene
Forensic teams are now scouring the museum for evidence as curators race to complete an inventory of the missing treasures. The Interior Ministry said the stolen objects possess “inestimable historical and patrimonial value”, though it has yet to confirm their exact worth or provenance.
Despite the shock, there were no injuries reported, and officials have expressed confidence that the investigation will move swiftly.
This is far from the first time the Louvre has found itself at the heart of a dramatic art theft. In 1911, the Mona Lisa famously vanished from its frame, spirited away by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former museum employee who hid overnight in a broom cupboard and simply walked out with the painting under his coat.
The theft made global headlines – and when the Mona Lisa was recovered two years later in Florence, it had become the most famous painting in the world.
Today, the Louvre houses more than 33,000 works of art spanning civilisations and centuries – from ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian artefacts to Renaissance masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Vermeer.
Its star attractions, including the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.
Sunday’s heist is a blow to the museum’s prestigious collection, but French officials have been quick to stress that security protocols were followed and that the Louvre will reopen soon. “The investigation will bring to light those responsible,” said Nuñez, promising the full mobilisation of police resources.
(With newswires)
