Louvre museum closed after daytime theft of ‘invaluable’ jewellery

The Louvre museum in Paris was the site of a major heist on Sunday morning, during which jewellery of “invaluable cultural and historical significance” was stolen, according to the French culture and interior ministries.

The thieves entered the museum at around 9:30 am (0730 GMT) by breaking a window, the ministries stated. Inside, they stole jewellery from display cases before fleeing on motorbikes.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati said the thieves needed just four minutes to secure their haul. “These are professionals,” she told broadcaster TF1 after viewing video surveillance material.

“They do not attack anyone. They enter quite calmly. In four minutes, they wreck display cases, seize their haul and disappear without using any force,” Dati said.

Dati contradicted earlier reports describing the thieves as robbers, which implies the use of force, saying the crime was a case of theft.

“The haul is of course of inestimable value. It’s jewels that were stolen,” she said.

The Le Parisien newspaper reported on the basis of police information that nine items from the collection of Napoleon and his empress had been stolen, including a necklace, a brooch and a diadem.

According to Dati, the thieves lost one of the pieces of jewellery, the crown of Empress Eugénie, during their escape. The priceless crown, made in 1855 and decorated with emeralds and hundreds of diamonds, was damaged during the heist.

Le Parisien said panic broke out among museum visitors, who were trapped for a period of time after the doors closed when the alarm went off. The ministries said the evacuation had proceeded smoothly and that no one had been injured.

The newspaper said masked thieves entered through a side door where construction work was ongoing. They used a goods lift to gain access to the museum room in the Galerie d’Apollon.

After breaking the window with a tool, two men entered as the third stood guard outside, media reports said.

The museum had been open for around 30 minutes when the theft occurred. Investigations are under way and a detailed list of the stolen items is currently being compiled, the ministries said.

“Everything is being done to apprehend the perpetrators of this unacceptable act as quickly as possible,” said France’s new Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who until recently served as the Paris police chief.

“An attack on the Louvre is an attack on our history and our cultural heritage,” he added.

All available resources are being deployed to recover the stolen items. Dati and Nuñez were present at the museum with investigators.

For security reasons and to preserve evidence for the investigation, the museum has been closed.

“The Musée du Louvre will remain closed today for exceptional reasons,” the museum posted on its X page, without mentioning the heist.

The ease with which the thieves entered the Louvre has given rise to questions about the museum’s security. No one has been interested in the security of large museums for 40 years, Dati said.

“Two years ago, the president of the Louvre asked the police for a security review. Why? Because these museums need to be adapted to new forms of crime,” she said.

The Louvre is the world’s most visited museum with almost 9 million visitors last year. Some 20,000 go to see Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa every day.