The Louvre Heist

On October 19th, the Louvre Museum in Paris was robbed. The thieves stole 8 priceless valuables belonging to the former monarchs of France in under 10 minutes. French prosecutors claim to have captured seven individuals during a city-wide manhunt, though the whereabouts of the priceless jewels remain a mystery. So, how did the thieves manage to pull off this robbery in broad daylight?

The robbers arrived at the Apollo Gallery, which was under renovation at the time, at 9:30 am. Two of them entered through the second-floor window by climbing up a truck-mounted ladder at 9:34. The burglars spared no time, setting off security alarms as they entered. Once they were inside, they smashed two glass display cases and stole 9 precious jewels. In their haste, one of the thieves dropped one object, which was Empress Eugénie’s Crown, containing 56 emeralds, 1,354 diamonds, and 1,136 rose-cut diamonds. The crown is estimated to be worth over $12,000,000. The thieves did end up getting away with eight imperial French crown jewels, including Napoleon’s brooch. In total, the estimated value of the stolen items is over $102 million.

While the robbers were in the museum, there were 5 staff members in or near the gilded Apollo Gallery. Following the Louvre’s protocol, the staff members contacted the police and focused their efforts on maintaining the safety of the guests in the area by evacuating the museum.

The thieves exited the museum just four minutes after entering. They climbed back down the ladder that the thieves had come up from. The two robbers who entered the museum made their escape with two other associates. The four thieves ran away on electric scooters.

Later that same day, there was a massive manhunt for the robbers. As of November 2nd, seven people have been arrested, three of whom are alleged robbers, and 4 are accused of criminal conspiracy. Even though the jewels still haven’t been recovered, French officials remain confident in their ability to track down the thieves, and more importantly, the stolen items.

This spectacular robbery has shocked the whole world. The Louver has been robbed at least ten times since its completion in 1793. Before 2025, the last robbery was in 1998. This robbery is also the most valuable Louvre heist in history. The more one looks into the details of this plot, the more they realize how intricate and planned out the operation was. If you wish to learn more about the heist, I strongly recommend you do more research on the specifics.