In one of the most daring museum robberies in recent history, a group of thieves stole jewels of "inestimable value" from Paris's Louvre Museum on Sunday morning, completing the heist in just seven minutes before vanishing into the city streets.
According to French authorities, four masked suspects used a mechanized furniture elevator attached to a truck to break into the Apollo Gallery, the section of the museum that houses the French Crown Jewels. Using a disc cutter, they forced their way through a window facing the River Seine around 9:30 a.m., shortly after the museum opened to the public.
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The robbery, described by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez as a "highly organized operation," appeared to exploit nearby construction work that provided cover and easy access to the first floor. Surveillance footage reportedly shows the thieves entering "calmly," smashing display cases, and fleeing without any violence. Within minutes, they escaped on two powerful Yamaha scooters toward a nearby highway.
Among the stolen items were nine historic jewels once owned by Napoleon, Empress Marie-Louise, and Empress Eugénie. These included an emerald-and-diamond necklace Napoleon gifted to his second wife in 1810, a sapphire diadem featuring over 1,000 diamonds, and a reliquary brooch adorned with rare Mazarin diamonds. The collection represents some of the most important surviving pieces of France's royal heritage.
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One artifact, Empress Eugénie's gold crown, set with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, was later recovered damaged near the museum. But experts fear the remaining jewels may be dismantled or melted down to conceal their origins. "These are the natural pride of France," art recovery specialist Arthur Brand told CNN, calling the theft "a national disaster."
The Louvre, the world's most visited museum, was immediately closed as police launched an investigation into what has already been called the most significant art theft in modern French history. President Emmanuel Macron vowed that France "will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice."
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Staffing shortages at the museum have been under scrutiny in recent months, with repeated strikes over crowding and security concerns. While investigators have not linked these issues directly to the theft, union representatives warned earlier this year that the museum's size and limited personnel left it vulnerable.
This heist, of course, adds a new chapter to the Louvre's long history of art thefts, from the 1911 stealing of the Mona Lisa to the 1976 disappearance of a diamond-studded coronation sword that remains missing to this day.