A daring daylight robbery at Paris’s Louvre Museum saw jewellery worth €88 million stolen, including pieces linked to Napoleon and Empress Eugenie. The heist, executed in under eight minutes by four masked thieves using power tools, has been condemned as an attack on France’s heritage. Security failures at the museum are under scrutiny as investigators hunt a professional gang feared to have already smuggled or dismantled the treasures.
Louvre Jewellery Heist Valued at €88 Million, Prosecutor Confirms
Jewellery stolen from Paris’s Louvre Museum in a bold daylight robbery has been valued at €88 million (£76m; $102m), according to French public prosecutor Laure Beccuau, who cited the museum’s curator.
Speaking to RTL radio, Beccuau described the figure as “extraordinary” but said the greater loss was to France’s historical heritage. Among the stolen pieces were crown jewels and gifts presented by two Napoleons to their wives.
The thieves, armed with power tools, completed the heist in under eight minutes shortly after the world’s most-visited museum opened on Sunday morning.
More than two days later, the robbers remain at large, and experts fear the jewellery has already disappeared.
Beccuau expressed hope that revealing the jewellery’s estimated worth would deter the culprits from destroying them, noting that the thieves would not receive the full value if they made “the very bad idea of melting down these jewels.”
The stolen treasures, previously considered of inestimable worth, include a diamond and emerald necklace gifted by Emperor Napoleon to his wife, a tiara worn by Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, and several items once owned by Queen Marie-Amelie.
Investigators discovered a damaged crown that had belonged to Empress Eugenie along the escape route, apparently dropped as the robbers fled in haste.
According to authorities, four masked men carried out the theft, using a truck with a mechanical lift to reach the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via a balcony overlooking the River Seine.
Two of the suspects reportedly cut through a first-floor glass window with a battery-powered disc cutter, entered the museum, and threatened security guards, prompting an evacuation.
The thieves attempted to set fire to their truck outside but were stopped by a museum staff member, before escaping on scooters.
French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the robbery as an attack on the nation’s heritage.
Following the incident, security measures have been tightened across France’s cultural institutions after a preliminary report revealed that one in three rooms at the Louvre lacked CCTV coverage and that its alarm system failed to activate.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin acknowledged that security protocols had “failed”, adding that the robbers’ ability to drive a modified truck up to the museum left France with a “terrible image.”
Authorities believe the heist was executed by a team of professionals, citing their speed and precision.
Experts in art recovery told the BBC that investigators had only one or two days to locate the missing items before they would be lost for good.
Other specialists warned the jewels were likely dismantled into gems and metals, smuggled abroad, and sold for a fraction of their true value.