What do we know about the Louvre robbery?

Thieves stole eight pieces from France's Crown Jewels collection during a swift raid on the Louvre Museum in Paris on October. 

The four-to-seven-minute operation targeted the Galerie d'Apollon amid early morning crowds, prompting an immediate evacuation and full-day closure. The incident has sparked intense scrutiny of the museum's defenses and fueled national frustration.

The heist began around 9:30 a.m., shortly after opening. Four intruders arrived on Yamaha TMAX motor scooters along the Seine side, dressed in yellow and orange high-visibility vests to blend with ongoing construction workers. 

They carried tools including angle grinders and small chainsaws. Two scaled a second-floor balcony using a monte-meuble—a truck-mounted electric basket lift—then cut through reinforced window glass with a battery-powered disc cutter, triggering exterior alarms. 

Inside, they threatened five unarmed guards as workers alerted police. The group smashed two high-security display cases and fled down the ladder to waiting scooters, dropping the Crown of Empress Eugénie and another jeweled item in the haste. 

They attempted to torch the lift's basket to destroy evidence, but a quick-thinking staffer intervened. The thieves sped toward the A6 highway, leaving behind equipment like grinders, a blowtorch, gasoline, gloves, a walkie-talkie, and a blanket.

Officials confirmed the theft of eight Napoleonic- and Second Empire-era jewels, including diamond-encrusted tiaras, necklaces, and brooches once owned by Empress Joséphine and Eugénie. Their value is deemed incalculable, though estimates exceed hundreds of millions of euros. 

Notably, the Regent Diamond, a 140-carat gem worth over $60 million, remained untouched, a point Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau called a "mystery." These unique artifacts, symbols of France's royal legacy, are unlikely to surface on legal markets and may be dismantled for raw diamonds and gold.

Warnings ignored

Investigators suspect a seasoned crew with prior reconnaissance, given their calm efficiency. No arrests have occurred, but the operation's precision echoes tactics of syndicates known for art thefts.

The breach was foreseeable, experts say. Budget cuts over 15 years eliminated nearly 200 security posts at the world's most-visited museum, which draws 10 million people annually. Delayed upgrades to alarms and barriers persisted despite union alerts. One lawmaker questioned why these warnings were ignored, drawing parallels to the 1911 Mona Lisa theft.

Outrage has swelled across France, with officials decrying a blow to national pride. 

President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the theft was "an attack on our History," vowing recovery through the Louvre's New Renaissance security upgrades. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez labeled it a "major robbery" of "incalculable" value by "experienced" thieves, predicting a swift resolution. 

Culture Minister Rachida Dati highlighted the intruders' professionalism from footage. "They entered calmly, smashed cases, took the loot, and left in four minutes, no violence." 

Permacrisis

Coming a day after S&P's downgrade of France's credit rating to A+ amid political volatility and fiscal strains, the heist deepens a sense of permacrisis in the country. Governments have changed rapidly since 2024 elections, alongside strikes and economic woes, with protests now gathering outside the shuttered Louvre.

Recovery odds of the stolen items remain low. A former Interpol art crimes expert on BBC Radio 4's Today program stated there is "no chance" of intact retrieval, forecasting meltdown for components. 

Sixty investigators are combing escape-route CCTV and scene forensics, issuing Europe-wide alerts.The Louvre remains closed, its halls silent amid the probe.