{"id":47010,"date":"2025-10-19T18:38:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T18:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=47010"},"modified":"2025-10-19T18:38:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T18:38:21","slug":"priceless-jewellery-stolen-from-louvre-in-expert-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2025\/10\/19\/priceless-jewellery-stolen-from-louvre-in-expert-heist\/","title":{"rendered":"Priceless Jewellery Stolen from Louvre in Expert Heist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Priceless\u201d historic jewellery has been stolen from the Louvre in Paris<\/a> after a highly professional robbery by men who used an angle grinder to break through glass and enter one of the museum\u2019s most ornate rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world\u2019s most-visited museum was suddenly closed for the day after the break-in targeted pieces in two glass cases in its Apollon gallery, where the French crown jewels are held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A crown worn in the 19th century by Empress Eug\u00e9nie, the wife of Napoleon III, was found broken near the museum after the thieves fled. It features golden eagles and is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds. Up to nine pieces of jewellery are believed to have been taken in the robbery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u2018Priceless\u2019
\u2018Priceless\u2019 jewellery stolen from Louvre in rapid heist, says French minister \u2013 video<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The French interior minister, Laurent Nu\u00f1ez, visited the scene and told France<\/a> Inter radio that \u201cpriceless\u201d jewels \u201cof unmeasurable heritage value\u201d were stolen after what was clearly a well-organised raid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thieves struck at 9.30am local time on Sunday and Nu\u00f1ez said it took them seven minutes to make off with the jewels. He said: \u201cThey stole jewels which have a real heritage value, an inestimable heritage value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Police<\/a>
Police officers examine a basket lift beside the Louvre on Sunday. Photograph: Thibault Camus\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The thieves approached the building from the outside, at an area where building work was taking place. A truck and a basket lift were used to access the museum. They used an angle grinder and power tools to break windows and enter. Nu\u00f1ez said it was the work of \u201can experienced team who had clearly scouted the location\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said three or four suspects had fled \u2013 their route was known and police were investigating whether it was a gang known to them for other crimes. Investigators were studying footage from security cameras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nu\u00f1ez would not confirm what jewels were taken but said the thieves targeted two glass cases. The gilded Apollon gallery of the Louvre, the ornate decoration of which was commissioned by the Sun King, Louis XIV, has a collection of historic crowns, diadems and sovereign jewellery. It is one of the museum\u2019s most spectacular rooms. Pieces usually on display there include three historic diamonds, the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia, as well as an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon gave to his wife, Marie Louise.https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/uploader\/embed\/2025\/10\/louvre-zip\/giv-32554gvI6L52ovE3g\/?dark=false<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nu\u00f1ez said the museum was evacuated to preserve evidence and to allow investigators and forensics teams to carry out their work. He later wrote on social media: \u201cTargeting the Louvre is targeting out history and our heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Paris prosecutor has opened an inquiry into the theft. Work was under way to estimate the value of the stolen pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Parisien newspaper reported that the thieves had been dressed in building attire, wearing yellow hi-vis jackets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French culture minister, Rachida Dati, was first to announce the incident. \u201cA robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,\u201d she wrote on social media. She used the French word braquage, <\/em>which can mean robbery or hold-up. She added: \u201cNo injuries reported. I\u2019m on site with museum staff and police.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dati confirmed that one stolen piece of jewellery was recovered outside the museum where the thieves had fled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ornate<\/a>
Royal jewellery on display in the Apollon gallery in 2020.Photograph: St\u00e9phane de Sakutin\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At least one person had entered the museum, a member of her team told Agence France-Presse, without adding anything about any possible theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Louvre, said it was closing for the day \u201cfor exceptional reasons\u201d, without providing further details on what had been stolen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politicians were quick to react. Ariel Weil, the Socialist mayor of Paris\u2019s central area said he was \u201cshocked\u201d and that it seemed like a storyline from a film. He told Le Parisien: \u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine that it was seemingly so easy to burgle the Louvre.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan Bardella, the president of Marine Le Pen\u2019s far-right National Rally party, said: \u201cThe Louvre is a global symbol of our culture. This robbery, that has allowed thieves to take the jewels of the French crown, is an unbearable humiliation for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The office of the president, Emmanuel Macron, said he was following events closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the largest arts centres on the planet, the Louvre attracts more than 8 million visitors a year. Its works range from classical sculpture to the Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s 16th-century masterpiece and the world\u2019s most famous portrait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Investigators<\/a>
Investigators near a possible point of entry for the thieves at the museum. Photograph: Poitout Florian\/ABACA\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In January, Macron announced a major renovation of the museum<\/a> after its director said that visiting the overcrowded building had become a \u201cphysical ordeal\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a note to the cultural ministry leaked to the media in January, the Louvre\u2019s director, Laurence des Cars, had said the space below the museum\u2019s glass pyramid entrance was not properly insulated from the cold or heat, tended to amplify noise, and was uncomfortable for both the public and the staff<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Des Cars also raised the alarm over water leaks, failing infrastructure and temperature swings that endanger the conservation of works of art. Visitors faced overcrowding and substandard facilities, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous was in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Italian painter and decorator, Vincenzo Peruggia, had hidden all night in a museum cupboard before taking the picture from its frame and leaving the building, apparently unseen. It was 24 hours before anyone noticed the painting was missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The poet Guillaume Apollinaire and the painter Pablo Picasso were both questioned by police. The painting was recovered three years later in Florence and returned to Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most recent theft in the Louvre dates to 1998, when a painting by the 19th-century French artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was removed from the wall. It has never been found, but its disappearance led to a review of security at the museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several museums across France have been targeted by thieves<\/a> in recent months. Last month, criminals used an angle grinder to break into Paris\u2019s Natural History Museum, stealing gold samples with a street value of \u20ac600,000 but priceless to scientists and researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last November, four men with axes and baseball bats smashed display cases in broad daylight at the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris targeting a popular exhibition, Pocket Luxury, which featured small precious objects from the 18th century. Seven valuable tobacco boxes were stolen, some of which had been on loan from the Louvre and the UK\u2019s royal collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Macron pledged this year that the Louvre would be \u201credesigned, restored and enlarged\u201d, he said he hoped the the annual number of visitors would rise to 12 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Priceless\u201d historic jewellery has been stolen from the Louvre in Paris after a highly professional robbery by men who used an angle grinder to break through glass and enter one of the museum\u2019s most ornate rooms. The world\u2019s most-visited museum was suddenly closed for the day after the break-in targeted pieces in two glass cases in its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":47011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[4836,5520,7711,3513,9742,1992,10739,524,12617,5575,6351,5918,12206,8995,11525,9259,6654,5803,9765,7225,12207,414,5904,5331,12309,6831,743,12371,7968,11477,8900,745,1253,421,11698,3805,11774,5333,10722,12751,9162,5655,5349,5470,11325,5374,10025,2485,12605,8033,8869,11359,10415,36,594],"class_list":["post-47010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-access","tag-cars","tag-cold","tag-culture","tag-da","tag-diamond","tag-display","tag-emmanuel-macron","tag-evacuated","tag-france","tag-french","tag-gold","tag-heist","tag-infrastructure","tag-injuries","tag-italian","tag-jordan","tag-le-pen","tag-leaked","tag-loan","tag-louvre","tag-macron","tag-marine-le-pen","tag-mayor","tag-men","tag-missing","tag-mona-lisa","tag-museum","tag-nine","tag-overcrowding","tag-pablo","tag-painting","tag-paris","tag-police","tag-politicians","tag-president","tag-raid","tag-rally","tag-removed","tag-robbery","tag-scientists","tag-security","tag-social-media","tag-space","tag-street","tag-sun","tag-temperature","tag-truck","tag-uk","tag-video","tag-water","tag-windows","tag-work","tag-world","tag-who"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47012,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47010\/revisions\/47012"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}