Eight expensive exhibits disappeared in the seven-minute robbery. How the robbery of the famous museum was carried out
Museum Louvre It's not working in Paris today, since he was robbed on Sunday (October 19)..
During the seven-minute robbery, eight extremely valuable exhibits were taken.
Thieves, armed with power tools, broke into the world's most visited museum in broad daylight, stole eight exhibits and fled on scooters.
The theft happened on Sunday between 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. local time, shortly after the museum opened to visitors.
The four thieves used a mechanical lift mounted on a vehicle to access the Apollo Gallery via a balcony near the River Seine.
Pictures from the scene show a vehicle-mounted ladder leading to a first-floor window.
The two thieves cut the glass panels with a battery-powered cutter and entered the museum.
They then threatened the guards, who evacuated the premises, and stole items from two glass cases, writes the BBC.
Museum alarms went off and staff followed protocol by contacting security forces and protecting visitors, the culture ministry said in a statement.
The gang tried to set fire to their vehicle outside but were prevented by the intervention of a museum employee, it added.
Culture Minister Rashida Dati told French news channel TF1 that footage of the theft showed masked robbers "calmly" entering and smashing jewelry display cases.
No one was injured in the incident, and Dati said that the robbery was carried out professionally, without violence and without any panic.
She described the thieves as apparently "experienced" with a well-planned escape on two scooters.
Les images du braquage du Louvre sont affligeantes.
Aucune alarme, aucune sécurité périmétrique, aucune agent à l'horizon...
Le voleur en gilet jaune agit tranquillement pendant 7 minutes au milieu des visiteurs.
Tout le monde filme, mais quelqu'un a seulement appelé la police? pic.twitter.com/zR0CpMCAkl
— Matthieu Valet (@mvalet_officiel) October 19, 2025
Everything happened "very, very quickly," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France Inter radio.
Nunez described the stolen jewelry as "priceless" and "of priceless heirloom value."
Investigators are looking for four suspects and are reviewing security camera footage.
The French Ministry of Culture announced that eight items were stolen - but not the extremely valuable crown of Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, which the thieves dropped on the way out. They also dropped the "Regent" diamond, which Sotheby's valued at more than US$60 million.
A crown, earrings and a sapphire necklace were stolen from the jewelry sets of Queen Maria Amelia and Queen Hortensia, as well as pieces of jewelry from the jewelry set of Marie Louise.
The robbery immediately spilled over into politics. Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used it to attack President Emmanuel Macron, who faces a fragmented parliament.
"The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture," Bardella wrote on the X social network. "This robbery, which enabled thieves to steal the French crown jewels, is an intolerable humiliation for our country. How far will the decline of the state go?"
Macron said France "will return the acts and the perpetrators will be brought to justice... The theft committed in the Louvre is an attack on the heritage we value because it is our history."
The Louvre has a long history of thefts, the largest of which was carried out by an Italian decorator who briefly worked at the Louvre and stole the Mona Lisa in 1911. Vincenzo Perugia entered the museum dressed as a museum worker. When no one was looking, he took down the picture and slipped away. He was later arrested, and the painting was recovered.
Source: BBC/Guardian
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