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By Thomas Adamson
In a burglary lasting just a few minutes, thieves used a freight elevator to gain access to the Louvre on Sunday morning.
They forced open a window, smashed display cases, and made off with jewelry of “inexpensive” value while tourists were already inside, the French Interior Minister said.
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An object was later found outside the museum, according to Culture Minister Rachida Dati. The daily Paris newspaper Le Parisien reported that it was the emerald-embellished crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, found broken just beyond the walls.
Dati described the criminals as “professionals,” saying they carried out a four-minute burglary “without any violence.”
The world’s most visited museum is closed for the day, with police sealing the doors and escorting visitors out while the investigation continues. The museum cited “exceptional reasons” to justify the closure.
Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced open a window, stole jewelry from display cases, and fled on two-wheeled vehicles, according to the Interior Ministry.
The ministry said forensic investigations were underway and a detailed inventory of the stolen objects was being compiled, adding that the items had “inexpensive” historical value.
A video of the scene shows distraught tourists being escorted from the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards, while police closed the gates and blocked the surrounding streets along the Seine.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the incident as a “major robbery,” adding that the intruders entered from outside using a freight elevator.
He said the thieves had used “an angle grinder” to break windows. He added that it was clearly “a team that had done reconnaissance.”
The robbery took place in the Apollo Gallery, a vaulted room in the Denon Wing that “houses the royal collection of gems and the Crown Diamonds,” according to the Louvre’s website, under a ceiling painted by the court artist of Louis XIV.
Le Parisien reported that the thieves entered through the facade overlooking the Seine, where renovations are underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery. After breaking windows, they allegedly stole nine pieces from Napoleon and the Empress’s jewelry collection.
Louvre security in the spotlight
Security around the exhibits remains tight. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom-made high-tech display system, as part of broader anti-theft measures implemented throughout the museum.
Staffing and security have been sore points at the Louvre. The museum delayed its opening during a staff strike in June due to overcrowding and chronic staff shortages.
Unions have warned that mass tourism is putting a strain on security and visitor management. It is still unclear whether staffing levels played a role in Sunday’s theft.
In January, President Emmanuel Macron announced a 10-year “New Louvre Renaissance” plan to modernize infrastructure, relieve overcrowding, and provide a dedicated gallery for Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece by 2031, but workers say help has been slow to arrive.
Other museums burglarized
This theft, which occurred less than half an hour after the doors opened, echoes other recent burglaries at European museums.
In 2019, thieves smashed glass cases at the Green Vault in Dresden, Germany, and stole diamond-studded royal jewels worth hundreds of millions of euros. In 2017, burglars at the Bode Museum in Berlin stole a 100-kilogram solid gold coin.
In 2010, a lone intruder broke into the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris and made off with five paintings, including a Picasso.
The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted burglaries. The most famous incident occurred in 1911, when the Mona Lisa disappeared from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who had hidden in the museum.
It was found two years later in Florence — an episode that helped makeda Vinci’s portrait the most famous work of art in the world.
The Louvre houses over 33,000 works, ranging from sculptures and paintings from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the classical world to European masters.
Highlights include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum attracts up to 30,000 visitors a day.
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