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It took thieves just seven minutes to steal nine pieces of priceless jewelry from the famed Louvre in Paris on Sunday. Such a brazen heist has led many to wonder how they were able to burglarize such a well-guarded museum is such a short period of time?
Making the high-profile heist even more daring is the fact that the four “experienced” thieves broke into the Louvre at 9:30 a.m. local time, just as the museum was opening. Plus, they didn’t even try to hide what they were doing.
How thieves were able to steal millions in jewels in just 7 minutes
According to Le Parisien, the four thieves were all completely hooded when they arrived with two TMax scooters which they would use for their escape after the thefts, which was caught on video surveillance cameras.
The thieves gained entry to the Louvre using a monte-meubles — a truck mounted with a basket lift – that was parked outside the museum. Once lifted to the balcony outside the Galerie d’Apollon, the thieves cut through a window with a disc cutter which triggered alarms. Five museum workers were reportedly in the room and adjacent rooms when they gained entry.
Once inside, the thieves targeted two glass display cases housing the priceless jewels and threatened guards with angle-grinders. They then smashed the display cases and fled with the priceless treasures, all in just seven minutes.
The heist was a combination of ‘professional thieves’ taking advantage of ‘security failures’
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati described the theft as a professional operation.
“We did find motorcycles and they have a license plate,” Dati said on CNews. “I also want to pay tribute to the security officers who prevented the basket lift from being set on fire. One of the criminals tried to set it on fire, but they forced him to flee. This allowed us to recover evidence at the scene.”
French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin admitted there were definite security failures.
“One can wonder about the fact that, for example, the windows hadn’t been secured, about the fact that a basket lift was on a public road,” Darmanin said on France Inter radio. “Having (previously) been interior minister, I know that we cannot completely secure all places, but what is certain is that we have failed.”
What jewels were stolen from the Louvre?
The items taken included a diamond and sapphire tiara, sapphire earrings, and a sapphire necklace belonging to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings belonging to Napoleon Boneparte’s second wife, Marie-Louise; and a tiara and a bodice bow belonging to the wife of Napoleon III, Empress Eugenie. The bodice bow is made up of 2,634 diamonds and was worth $10.5 million when it was acquired by the Louvre in 2008. The value of the entirety of stolen items is still being calculated.
Another item, reported to be a crown containing more than 1,300 diamonds that belonged to Empress Eugenie, was found damaged outside the Louvre. The museum, which closed immediately after the heist, remained closed on Monday as the investigation into the crime continues.
Two other museum thefts happened in France last year
In October of 2024, four armed robbers stole millions in jewels from a French national treasure from the Hieron Museum in central France. The thieves reportedly arrived at the museum on motorcycles at around 4 p.m. local time. Three of the four armed robbers then entered the building and fired warning shots, while the other robber stood guard outside.
They then used a chainsaw to cut open the armored windows, took the artwork, gold and ivory figurines and emerald decorations, and fled on their motorcycles. Coincidentally, the day before the the Hieron Museum robbery, the Cognacq-Jay Museum in central Paris was also the victim of an armed robbery that netted thieves approximately $1.05 million worth of items.