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  • Suspects arrested over the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre museum

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    Suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre museum, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday, a week after the heist at the world’s most visited museum that stunned the world.The prosecutor said that investigators made the arrests on Saturday evening, adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Roissy Airport.French media BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier reported that two suspects had been arrested and taken into custody. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not confirm the number of arrests and did not say whether jewels had been recovered.Thieves took less than eight minutes to steal jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million) last Sunday morning. French officials described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvre’s façade, forced open a window, smashed display cases and fled. The museum’s director called the incident a “terrible failure.”Beccuau said investigators from a special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts made the arrests. She rued in her statement the premature leak of information, saying it could hinder the work of over 100 investigators “mobilized to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators.” Beccuau said further details will be unveiled after the suspects’ custody period ends.French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised “the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.”The Louvre reopened earlier this week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale.The thieves slipped in and out, making off with parts of France’s Crown Jewels — a cultural wound that some compared to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019.The thieves made away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship — were also part of the loot.One piece — Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown with more than 1,300 diamonds — was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable.

    PARIS —

    Suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre museum, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday, a week after the heist at the world’s most visited museum that stunned the world.

    The prosecutor said that investigators made the arrests on Saturday evening, adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Roissy Airport.

    French media BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier reported that two suspects had been arrested and taken into custody. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not confirm the number of arrests and did not say whether jewels had been recovered.

    Thieves took less than eight minutes to steal jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million) last Sunday morning. French officials described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvre’s façade, forced open a window, smashed display cases and fled. The museum’s director called the incident a “terrible failure.”

    Beccuau said investigators from a special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts made the arrests. She rued in her statement the premature leak of information, saying it could hinder the work of over 100 investigators “mobilized to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators.” Beccuau said further details will be unveiled after the suspects’ custody period ends.

    French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised “the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.”

    The Louvre reopened earlier this week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale.

    The thieves slipped in and out, making off with parts of France’s Crown Jewels — a cultural wound that some compared to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019.

    The thieves made away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

    They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship — were also part of the loot.

    One piece — Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown with more than 1,300 diamonds — was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable.

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  • Suspects arrested over the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre museum

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    Suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre museum, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday, a week after the heist at the world’s most visited museum that stunned the world.The prosecutor said that investigators made the arrests on Saturday evening, adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Roissy Airport.French media BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier reported that two suspects had been arrested and taken into custody. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not confirm the number of arrests and did not say whether jewels had been recovered.Thieves took less than eight minutes to steal jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million) last Sunday morning. French officials described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvre’s façade, forced open a window, smashed display cases and fled. The museum’s director called the incident a “terrible failure.”Beccuau said investigators from a special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts made the arrests. She rued in her statement the premature leak of information, saying it could hinder the work of over 100 investigators “mobilized to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators.” Beccuau said further details will be unveiled after the suspects’ custody period ends.French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised “the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.”The Louvre reopened earlier this week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale.The thieves slipped in and out, making off with parts of France’s Crown Jewels — a cultural wound that some compared to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019.The thieves made away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship — were also part of the loot.One piece — Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown with more than 1,300 diamonds — was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable.

    PARIS —

    Suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre museum, the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday, a week after the heist at the world’s most visited museum that stunned the world.

    The prosecutor said that investigators made the arrests on Saturday evening, adding that one of the men taken into custody was preparing to leave the country from Roissy Airport.

    French media BFM TV and Le Parisien newspaper earlier reported that two suspects had been arrested and taken into custody. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau did not confirm the number of arrests and did not say whether jewels had been recovered.

    Thieves took less than eight minutes to steal jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million) last Sunday morning. French officials described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvre’s façade, forced open a window, smashed display cases and fled. The museum’s director called the incident a “terrible failure.”

    Beccuau said investigators from a special police unit in charge of armed robberies, serious burglaries and art thefts made the arrests. She rued in her statement the premature leak of information, saying it could hinder the work of over 100 investigators “mobilized to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend all of the perpetrators.” Beccuau said further details will be unveiled after the suspects’ custody period ends.

    French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised “the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.”

    The Louvre reopened earlier this week after one of the highest-profile museum thefts of the century stunned the world with its audacity and scale.

    The thieves slipped in and out, making off with parts of France’s Crown Jewels — a cultural wound that some compared to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019.

    The thieves made away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

    They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, as well as a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship — were also part of the loot.

    One piece — Eugénie’s emerald-set imperial crown with more than 1,300 diamonds — was later found outside the museum, damaged but recoverable.

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  • Louvre museum in Paris relocates some jewels – with police escort

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    Five days after the spectacular break-in at the Louvre in Paris, part of the museum’s valuable jewellery collection was transferred to the Banque de France for security reasons, local media reported on Friday.

    The pieces were transported under police escort to the nearby vaults of the French central bank, radio station RTL reported, citing corroborating sources. Broadcaster BFMTV also reported that the information had been confirmed.

    The Louvre was evacuated and shut down on Sunday morning after four masked thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery, home to France’s remaining crown jewels.

    They broke into two display cases and made off with eight pieces of jewellery once owned by French queens and empresses, with an estimated value of €88 million ($102 million).

    The daring break-in also sparked a debate about security measures at the museum.

    It wasn’t initially clear which exhibits were affected by the transfer. The crown jewels on display in the Apollo Gallery and other jewellery are said to have been moved. There is still no trace of the perpetrators or the stolen jewels.

    According to the RTL report, the jewels were deposited in a high-security vault 26 metres underground. Around 90% of France’s gold reserves are also stored there.

    Such a transfer is considered extraordinary. Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, estimated to be worth over €600 million, have been kept in those vaults for several years.

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  • Louvre museum to remain shut after spectacular heist as hunt for thieves continues

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    The Louvre Museum in Paris will remain closed on Monday following a daring robbery in which eight priceless royal jewels were stolen in just seven minutes.

    Police are still on the hunt for the four-person commando unit responsible for one of the boldest art heists the world has seen in years.

    The robbery took place on Sunday morning around 9:30 am, half an hour after the museum had opened its doors.

    The thieves used a truck equipped with a lift to break into the Galerie d’Apollon, home to some of France’s most historic treasures.

    Armed with disk cutters, they smashed two display cases — one containing Napoleon’s jewels and the other the crown jewels of French monarchs — before fleeing on two scooters.

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    Investigators later recovered tools, gloves, and two of the stolen pieces, including the damaged crown of Empress Eugénie. The crown, made of gold, features more than 1,300 diamonds. The second piece has not yet been identified.

    According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, the thieves were highly skilled and potentially connected to an organised crime network.

    A team of around 60 investigators from Paris’s anti-gang unit and the Office for Combating Cultural Property Trafficking are now leading the hunt.

    The stolen jewels are nearly impossible to sell on the open market. Authorities are investigating whether the heist was commissioned by a third party or if the thieves intended to use the stones for money laundering.

    Shock and awe

    The heist has sparked strong reactions from politicians and visitors alike.

    Tourists were left disappointed on Monday morning as a long queue formed outside the closed museum.

    Rodrigo and Alicia, a couple from Spain, told Euronews they had bought their tickets one month ago.

    “It is frustrating, we were really looking forward to visiting the Louvre for the first time,” they said in an interview.

    Elaine and Christina, two sisters from Ireland, did not hide their fascination with the audacious heist.

    “It feels like we’re a part of history, we just can’t even believe it. It’s amazing and shocking at the same time. It’s sad, and of course I hope they catch the people that did it, but for me it kind of heightens my experience,” said Elaine.

    The French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin described the robbery as sending a very negative image of France to the world, saying the public feels “personally robbed” by the theft.

    French President Emmanuel Macron called the theft “an attack on a heritage we cherish.”

    The far-right National Rally described the robbery as an “humiliation” and a “wound to the French soul.” The party’s figurehead, Marine Le Pen, said on X, “Our museums and historic buildings are not secured to the level of the threats weighing on them. We must react.”

    On the left, former French President François Hollande urged authorities to focus on tracking down the thieves rather than inflaming political controversy.

    Security concerns at the Louvre have already been raised multiple times over the past few years.

    In June, museum workers went on strike to protest staff shortages that compromised security, highlighting vulnerabilities confirmed by a recent survey by France’s Cour des comptes — the country’s highest audit institution.

    The report revealed that in the Denon wing, where the Galerie d’Apollon and the Mona Lisa are located, one in three rooms has no surveillance cameras.

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    The Louvre, which welcomes more than eight million visitors annually, has also faced long-running infrastructure issues.

    Leaks, poor insulation, and overcrowding have prompted calls for renovation, and French President Macron announced plans for a major overhaul earlier this year.

    The “Louvre New Renaissance” plan, a decade-long, €700 million project, aims at modernising the museum’s infrastructure, easing crowding, and giving the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.

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  • Thieves strike Louvre in daring jewel heist

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    In a brazen, seven-minute strike, thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre on Sunday morning and, as tourists were already inside, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with jewels of “inestimable value,” France’s interior minister said.The world’s most visited museum closed for the day as police sealed gates and ushered visitors out during the investigation.“A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X. The museum cited “exceptional reasons” for the closure. No injuries were reported.Around 9:30 a.m. several intruders forced open a window, stole jewels from vitrines and escaped on two-wheelers, according to the Interior Ministry. It said forensic work is underway and a precise inventory of the stolen objects is being compiled, adding that the items have “inestimable” historical value. Dati and Nuñez were on site with museum leadership.Video from the scene showed confused tourists being ushered out of the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards as officers shut the iron gates and closed nearby streets along the Seine.Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called it a “major robbery,” saying the intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift. He said on France Inter radio that the heist took seven minutes and the thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes. He said it was “manifestly a team that had done scouting.”The heist occurred in the Galerie d’Apollon, a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV’s court artist, according to the ministry.French daily Le Parisien reported the thieves entered via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery. After breaking windows, they reportedly took nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress. One stolen jewel was later found outside the museum, the paper reported, adding that the item was believed to be Empress Eugénie’s crown and that it had been broken.Security and staffing at the Louvre in the spotlightSecurity around marquee works remains tight. The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom high-tech display system as part of broader anti-theft measures across the museum.Staffing and protection have been flashpoints at the Louvre. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions have warned that mass tourism strains security and visitor management.It wasn’t immediately clear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday’s theft.In January, President Emmanuel Macron announced a decadelong “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — roughly €700 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece its own dedicated gallery by 2031 — but workers say relief has been slow to reach the floor.Other European museums have been robbedThe theft, less than half an hour after doors opened, echoes other recent European museum raids.In 2019, thieves smashed vitrines in Dresden’s Green Vault and carried off diamond-studded royal jewels worth hundreds of millions of euros. In 2017, burglars at Berlin’s Bode Museum stole a 100-kilogram (220-pound) solid-gold coin. In 2010, a lone intruder slipped into Paris’s Museum of Modern Art and escaped with five paintings, including a Picasso.The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence — an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait the world’s best-known artwork.Home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters — the Louvre’s star attractions include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.

    PARIS —

    In a brazen, seven-minute strike, thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre on Sunday morning and, as tourists were already inside, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with jewels of “inestimable value,” France’s interior minister said.

    The world’s most visited museum closed for the day as police sealed gates and ushered visitors out during the investigation.

    “A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X. The museum cited “exceptional reasons” for the closure. No injuries were reported.

    Around 9:30 a.m. several intruders forced open a window, stole jewels from vitrines and escaped on two-wheelers, according to the Interior Ministry. It said forensic work is underway and a precise inventory of the stolen objects is being compiled, adding that the items have “inestimable” historical value. Dati and Nuñez were on site with museum leadership.

    Video from the scene showed confused tourists being ushered out of the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards as officers shut the iron gates and closed nearby streets along the Seine.

    Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called it a “major robbery,” saying the intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift. He said on France Inter radio that the heist took seven minutes and the thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes. He said it was “manifestly a team that had done scouting.”

    The heist occurred in the Galerie d’Apollon, a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV’s court artist, according to the ministry.

    French daily Le Parisien reported the thieves entered via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery. After breaking windows, they reportedly took nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress. One stolen jewel was later found outside the museum, the paper reported, adding that the item was believed to be Empress Eugénie’s crown and that it had been broken.

    Security and staffing at the Louvre in the spotlight

    Security around marquee works remains tight. The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom high-tech display system as part of broader anti-theft measures across the museum.

    Staffing and protection have been flashpoints at the Louvre. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions have warned that mass tourism strains security and visitor management.

    It wasn’t immediately clear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday’s theft.

    In January, President Emmanuel Macron announced a decadelong “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — roughly €700 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece its own dedicated gallery by 2031 — but workers say relief has been slow to reach the floor.

    Other European museums have been robbed

    The theft, less than half an hour after doors opened, echoes other recent European museum raids.

    In 2019, thieves smashed vitrines in Dresden’s Green Vault and carried off diamond-studded royal jewels worth hundreds of millions of euros. In 2017, burglars at Berlin’s Bode Museum stole a 100-kilogram (220-pound) solid-gold coin. In 2010, a lone intruder slipped into Paris’s Museum of Modern Art and escaped with five paintings, including a Picasso.

    The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence — an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait the world’s best-known artwork.

    Home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters — the Louvre’s star attractions include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.

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