Louvre

Nov. 6 (UPI) — An evaluation of the Louvre Museum’s security measures — underway long before a costly break-in last month — found Thursday that the Paris institution had fallen “considerably behind” in upgrading its technical infrastructure and security.

The report from the French Court of Auditors took a look at both the facilities of the museum and the Louvre Museum Endowment Fund from 2018 to 2024. It was completed before the Oct. 19 break-in during which thieves made off with eight bejeweled items worth millions.

The report said the theft highlighted “the importance of long-term investments in modernizing the museum’s infrastructure and restoring the palace.”

The authors of the report took issue with the Louvre’s acquirement of 2,754 items over eight years, one-fourth of which were on display. These items — and renovations of displays — represent an investment of $167 million, double what the Louvre allocated for maintenance, upgrades and building restoration.

“Throughout the period under review, the court observed that the museum prioritized visible and attractive operations, such as the acquisition of works, and the redesign of its displays, to the detriment of the maintenance and renovation of buildings and technical installations, particularly those related to safety and security,” the report said.

The report recommended that the Louvre eliminate a rule that requires the museum spend 20% of its ticket revenues — $143 million in 2024 — on acquiring new works. This would allow the facility to redirect funds to update the building without additional state funding. Auditors said the museum could also lean more heavily on its endowment fund to make the upgrades.

Police in France have arrested several people believed to be connected to the October heist. The theft saw four people use a truck with a ladder to break into the upper-floor Apollo Gallery and steal jewelry from display cases.

Among the items stolen were items once owned by French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais.

Both suspects, who were arrested earlier this week, have denied involvement in stealing priceless Napoleonic-era jewellery that remains missing.

The Paris prosecutor says two more people have been handed preliminary charges for their alleged involvement in a recent jewel heist at France’s Louvre Museum, days after they were arrested by Paris police as part of a sweeping probe.

Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement on Saturday that a 37-year-old suspect was charged with theft by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy, while the other, a 38-year-old woman, is accused of being an accomplice.

Both have been incarcerated and both denied involvement, said Beccuau.

The male suspect has been placed in pre-trial detention pending a hearing to take place in the coming days, said the prosecutor, adding that he had been known to the judicial authorities for previous theft offences.

Beccuau justified the detention of the woman, who lives in the French capital’s northern suburb of La Courneuve, on the grounds of a “risk of collusion” and “disturbance of public order”.

The woman’s lawyer, Adrien Sorrentino, told reporters his client is “devastated” because she disputes the accusations.

“She does not understand how she is implicated in any of the elements she is accused of,” he said.

Five people were arrested by Paris police on Wednesday in connection with the case, including one who was identified by his DNA at the crime scene. Three of them have been released without charges, Beccuau said. Seven people have been arrested in total.

Last month, thieves wielding power tools raided the Louvre, the world’s most visited art museum, in broad daylight, taking just seven minutes to steal jewellery worth an estimated $102m.

French authorities initially announced the arrest of two male suspects over the Louvre robbery.

The two men were charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after “partially admitting to the charges”, Beccuau said this week.

They are suspected of being the two who broke into the gallery while two accomplices waited outside.

Both lived in the northeastern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers.

One is a 34-year-old Algerian national living in France, who was identified by DNA traces found on one of the scooters used to flee the heist. The second man is a 39-year-old unlicensed taxi driver.

Both were known to the police for having committed thefts.

The first was arrested as he was about to board a plane for Algeria at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.

The second was apprehended shortly after near his home, and there was no evidence to suggest that he was planning to go abroad, prosecutors said.

The stolen loot remains missing.

The thieves dropped a diamond- and emerald-studded crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, as they escaped.

The burglars made off with eight other items of jewellery.

Among them are an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his second wife, Empress Marie-Louise, and a diadem that once belonged to the Empress Eugenie, which is dotted with nearly 2,000 diamonds.

Last week, the Louvre director told the French Senate the museum’s security operations “did not detect the arrival of the thieves soon enough”.

“Today we are experiencing a terrible failure at the Louvre, which I take my share of responsibility in,” the director said, adding that she submitted her resignation to Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who turned it down.

Oct. 30 (UPI) — Police in France arrested five new suspects over alleged involvement in theft of priceless French crown jewels from the Louvre in the French capital, Paris’ chief prosecutor said.

The office of Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the men were detained in and around Paris on Wednesday night but that the jewels, which some estimates have valued at more than $100 million, were not recovered.

The development came 10 days after four suspects were filmed on CCTV carrying out the heist in broad daylight using a lift-ladder mounted on the back of a stolen truck to break into the museum’s Apollon Gallery, before disappearing into the back streets on the back of getaway motorcycles.

Beccuau said that DNA from one of those arrested could be a match to traces DNA left behind at the scene and that the suspect was throught to be part of the gang that carried out the theft.

“He’s one we had in our sights,” she said, adding that the others “can give us information about how the theft was carried out.”

Police have four days to charge the five before they have to release them.

Two others suspected of using power tools to gain entry — both men in their 30s with police records — were arrested Saturday, one as he was boarding a flight to Algeria, but investigators now believe the gang extends beyond those detained thus far.

Among the riches taken were an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave to his second wife, Marie Louise, a diadem set with nearly 2,000 diamonds and more than 200 pearls that belonged to Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie and six other priceless pieces dating back to the early 1800s.

However, Eugenie’s diamond and emerald-covered crown was left behind after the gang dropped it onto the road in their haste to escape.

The gang, posing as maintenance workers, ascended to a second-floor balcony adjacent to the River Seine, smashed a window and used disc cutters to break into glass display cases housing the jewels.

The Louvre was shut following the robbery, which French Culture Minister Rachida Dati said was an attack on France, and nine of its 28 galleries, including the Apollon, remained closed on Thursday, according to the Louvre website.

The Louvre has since moved some of its most valuable exhibits, including precious jewels, to the Bank of France, a short distance away, to be stored in its main underground vault, 85 feet below rue Croix des Petits Champs.

As the number of arrests climbs to seven, none of the priceless Napoleonic-era jewellery has been recovered.

Paris police have arrested five new suspects in the Louvre crown jewel heist, the Paris prosecutor has confirmed, a day after prosecutors said two other suspects had “partially” admitted to charges of theft and conspiracy.

The group includes one “main” suspect, according to Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the AFP news agency reported on Thursday. Quoting judiciary sources, radio station RTL said the arrests unfolded simultaneously throughout the Paris area late on Wednesday evening.

“We had him in our sights,” Beccuau said of the prime suspect.

Details of the five Thursday arrests, including the suspects’ identities, were not immediately available.

On the morning of October 19, as visitors roamed the halls of the world’s most-visited museum, a group of intruders broke into the Apollo Gallery through an upstairs window and snatched eight pieces of priceless jewellery in a four-minute heist that has reverberated through the art world.

The stolen jewels, which have not been recovered, included 19th-century tiaras, necklaces, earrings and a brooch belonging to the wives of French Emperor Napoleon I and Napoleon III.

Since then, investigators have raced to locate the thieves, initially believed to include at least four people.

On Wednesday, Beccuau said two suspects would be brought before magistrates to be charged with organised theft, which carries a 15-year prison sentence, and criminal conspiracy, punishable by 10 years.

The duo – a 34-year-old Algerian national and a 39-year-old who were arrested in the northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers on Saturday – had “partially admitt[ed] to the charges”, Beccuau told a news conference.

Last week, the Louvre director told the French Senate the museum’s security operations “did not detect the arrival of the thieves soon enough”.

The Louvre curator has estimated the jewels amount to about 88 million euros ($102m) in value.

“Today we are experiencing a terrible failure at the Louvre, which I take my share of responsibility in,” the director said, adding that she submitted her resignation to the culture minister, who turned it down.

PARIS — Two suspects in the Louvre jewel heist on Wednesday were handed preliminary charges of criminal conspiracy and theft committed by an organized gang, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor said they admitted their involvement.

Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said at a news conference that the two are believed to be the men who forced their way into the world’s most visited museum Oct. 19, and that at least two other accomplices are at large. The jewels remain missing.

The two were given preliminary charges and ordered held in custody pending further investigation, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

They have “partially” admitted their participation in the robbery, Beccuau said. She declined to provide details about the suspects’ statements to investigators because accomplices were still being sought.

It took thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels valued at $102 million on Oct. 19, shocking the world. The robbers forced open a window, cut into cases with power tools and fled with eight pieces of the French crown jewels.

Suspects’ DNA was found

The two men arrested on Saturday night “are suspected of being the ones who broke into the Apollo Gallery to steal the jewels,” Beccuau said.

One is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Beccuau said. He was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket. He was living in a suburb north of Paris, Aubervilliers, and was known to police mostly for road traffic offenses. His DNA was found on one of the scooters used by robbers to leave the scene, she said.

The other suspect, 39, was arrested at his home in Aubervilliers. “There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” Beccuau said. The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed and on items the thieves left behind, she added.

Video surveillance cameras showed there were at least four criminals involved, Beccuau said.

The four suspected robbers arrived onboard a truck equipped with a freight lift that two of them used to climb up to the museum’s window. The four left on two motor scooters along the Seine River toward eastern Paris, where they had some other vehicles parked, she said.

Beccuau said nothing suggests that the robbers had any accomplices within the museum’s staff.

The jewels are still missing

The jewels have not been recovered, Beccuau said.

“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable … Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods,” she warned. “There’s still time to give them back.”

Earlier Wednesday, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defenses — turning the dazzling daylight theft into a national reckoning over how France protects its treasures.

Paris Police Chief Patrice Faure told Senate lawmakers that aging systems and slow-moving fixes left weak seams in the museum.

“A technological step has not been taken,” he said, noting that parts of the video network are still analog, producing lower-quality images that are slow to share in real time.

A long-promised revamp — a $93-million project requiring roughly 37 miles of new cabling — “will not be finished before 2029-2030,” he said.

Faure also disclosed that the Louvre’s authorization to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and wasn’t renewed — a paperwork lapse that some see as a symbol of broader negligence.

The police chief said officers “arrived extremely fast” after the theft, but added the lag in response occurred earlier in the chain — from first detection, to museum security, to the emergency line, to police command.

Faure and his team said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms but from a cyclist outside who dialed the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.

Faure urged lawmakers to authorize tools currently off-limits: AI-based anomaly detection and object tracking (not facial recognition) to flag suspicious movements and follow scooters or gear across city cameras in real time.

Former bank robber David Desclos has told the AP the theft was textbook and vulnerabilities were glaringly obvious in the layout of the gallery.

Museum and culture officials under pressure

Culture Minister Rachida Dati, under pressure, has refused the Louvre director’s resignation and insisted that alarms worked, while acknowledging “security gaps did exist.”

The museum was already under strain. In June, the Louvre shut in a spontaneous staff strike — including security agents — over unmanageable crowds, chronic understaffing and “untenable” conditions. Unions say mass tourism and construction pinch points create blind spots, a vulnerability underscored by the thieves who rolled a basket lift to the Seine-facing façade.

Faure said police will now track surveillance-permit deadlines across institutions to prevent repeats of the July lapse. But he stressed the larger fix is disruptive and slow: ripping out and rebuilding core systems while the palace stays open, and updating the law so police can act on suspicious movement in real time.

Experts fear that the stolen pieces may already be broken down and stones recut to erase their past.

Adamson and Corbet write for the Associated Press.

The suspects face charges for theft committed by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy, prosecutor says.

Two men arrested over a jewel heist at France’s Louvre Museum are to be charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after “partially admitting to the charges”, Paris Public Prosecutor Laure Beccuau has said.

The suspects were to be brought before magistrates with a view to “charging them with organised theft, which carries a 15-year prison sentence”, and criminal conspiracy, punishable by 10 years, Beccuau told a press conference on Wednesday. The jewellery stolen on October 19 has “not yet been recovered”, Beccuau said.

Two suspects in the Louvre jewel heist have “partially” admitted their participation and are believed to be the men who forced their way into the world’s most visited museum, a Paris prosecutor said.

Beccuau said that the two suspects face preliminary charges of theft committed by an organised gang and criminal conspiracy, and are expected to be held in provisional detention. She did not give details about their comments.

It took thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102m), shocking the world. The thieves forced open a window, cut into cases with power tools, and fled with eight pieces of the French crown jewels.

One suspect is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Beccuau said. He was arrested Saturday night at Charles de Gaulle Airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket. He was living in Paris’s northern suburb of Aubervilliers and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences, Beccuau said.

The other suspect, 39, was arrested Saturday night at his home, also in Aubervilliers.

“There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” Beccuau said. The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed and on items the thieves left behind, she added.

Prosecutors had faced a late Wednesday deadline to charge the suspects, release them or seek a judge’s extension.

Jewels not yet recovered

The jewels have not been recovered, Beccuau said.

“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable … Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods,” she warned. “It’s still time to give them back.”

Earlier Wednesday, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences – turning the dazzling daylight theft into a national reckoning over how France protects its treasures.

Paris Police Chief Patrice Faure told Senate lawmakers that ageing systems and slow-moving fixes left weak seams in the museum.

“A technological step has not been taken,” he said, noting that parts of the video network are still analog, producing lower-quality images that are slow to share in real time.

A long-promised revamp “will not be finished before 2029–2030”, he said.

Faure also disclosed that the Louvre’s authorisation to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and wasn’t renewed – a paperwork lapse that some see as a symbol of broader negligence.

The police chief said officers “arrived extremely fast” after the theft, but added the lag in response occurred earlier in the chain – from first detection, to museum security, to the emergency line, to police command.

Faure and his team said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms, but from a cyclist outside who dialed the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.

Within 24 hours of the Louvre heist, a museum in eastern France reported the theft of gold and silver coins after finding a smashed display case.

Last month, thieves broke into Paris’s Natural History Museum and stole gold nuggets worth more than $1.5m. A Chinese woman has been detained and charged in relation to the theft.

PARIS — At least two suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of crown jewels from Paris’ Louvre Museum, the Paris prosecutor said Sunday, a week after the heist that stunned the world.

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

France’s 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 any jewels had been recovered.

Thieves took less than eight minutes Oct. 19 to steal jewels valued at more than $100 million from the world’s most-visited museum. French officials described how the intruders used a basket lift to scale the Louvre’s facade, 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. In her statement, she rued the leak of information, saying it could hinder the work of more than 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 last 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 while museum patrons were inside, making off with some of France’s crown jewels — a cultural wound that some compared with the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019.

The thieves escaped with 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 repairable.

News of the arrests was met with relief by Louvre visitors and passersby on Sunday.

“It’s important for our heritage. A week later, it does feel a bit late; we wonder how this could even happen — but it was important that the guys were caught,” said Freddy Jacquemet.

“I think the main thing now is whether they can recover the jewels,” added Diana Ramirez. “That’s what really matters.”

Petrequin and Garriga write for the Associated Press and reported from London and Paris, respectively.

Oct. 26 (UPI) — French prosecutors on Sunday announced that arrests had been made in connection with the brazen daylight heist of historic jewels worth more than $100 million from the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Laure Beccuau, the Paris public prosecutor, said in a statement that the office’s anti-gang unit had made the arrests Saturday evening, but did not disclose precisely how many arrests had been made. It previously had been reported that at least four people were believed to have been involved in the heist last Sunday.

Beccuau revealed that one of the men was preparing to flee the country from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport when he was arrested.

The arrests had first been reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien, citing anonymous sources, before the news was confirmed by Beccuau. The prosecutor lamented that the leak that arrests had been made before authorities were ready to disclose the news.

“I deeply regret the hasty disclosure of this information by informed individuals, without consideration for the investigation,” she said in her statement.

“This revelation can only hinder the investigative efforts of the hundred or so investigators mobilized in the search for both the stolen jewelry and the perpetrators. It is too early to provide any further details.”

Beccuau said that she would provide further information to the public at the end of this phase of police custody.

A representative for the Louvre confirmed to UPI last week that several people broke in through a window in the Galerie d’Apollon, which houses many of France’s royal jewels, around 9:30 a.m. local time after the museum had already opened its doors to the public.

The thieves had posed as workers in yellow vests and used a hoist truck to break into a second-floor window of the Galerie d’Apollon and cut through the glass display cases to snatch the jewels before dashing away on motorcycles along the A6 motorway.

The theft set off alarms on the gallery’s exterior window and display cases, and museum workers present in the gallery during the theft quickly notified police, but the thieves escaped with the jewels in less than seven minutes.

Interpol later added the jewels to its Stolen Works of Art database, an international registry of cultural property stolen worldwide to aid in their recovery, the art news publication Urgent Matter reported.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez praised investigators for working tirelessly to find the men who stole the jewels.

“The investigations must continue while respecting the confidentiality of the inquiry under the authority of the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Parquet de Paris,” he said.

The heist has heightened scrutiny of security flaws faced by French institutions.

Also last week, thieves stole historic silver and gold coins from the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot museum in the town of Langres.

And French authorities announced that a Chinese woman had been charged in connection with the September theft of gold nuggets from the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris.

French authorities have detained several men in connection to the recent theft of precious jewellery from the world-renowned Louvre museum in Paris, the Paris prosecutor has said.

French media reported that one of the suspects was apprehended around 10 pm (20:00 GMT) on Saturday at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to board a plane abroad, French media Le Parisien and Paris Match reported on Sunday, and the second was arrested not long after in the Paris region, according to Le Parisien.

The Louvre Museum in the French capital closed one week ago after a group of intruders successfully stole eight pieces of priceless jewellery in a quick-hit four-minute heist in broad daylight that rocked the world’s most-visited museum and was followed raptly around the globe.

The robbers had climbed the extendable ladder of a movers’ truck and cut into a first-floor gallery.

They dropped a crown as they fled down the ladder and onto scooters, but managed to steal eight other pieces, include an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon Bonaparte gave his wife, Empress Marie-Louise.

Officials said the jewels were worth an estimated $102 million but held incalculable cultural value.

An intensive manhunt for the thieves has been ongoing, involving dozens of investigators.

The brazen theft has made headlines across the world and sparked a debate in France about the security of cultural institutions.

Police initially cordoned off the museum – famously home to Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa – with tape and as armed soldiers patrolled its iconic glass pyramid entrance.

More to come…

“Art is worth something, even if it’s stolen.”

Read more

PARIS — The Louvre remained closed Monday, a day after historic jewels were stolen from the world’s most-visited museum in a daring daylight heist that prompted authorities to reassess security measures at cultural sites across France.

The museum’s staff asked dozens of visitors who were queuing in front of the glass pyramid entrance to leave. In a message posted on social media, the Louvre said visitors who have booked tickets will be refunded. It did not provide additional details.

On Sunday, thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre’s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said. The theft occurred about 30 minutes after the museum opened, with visitors already inside, and was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory.

It unfolded just 270 yards from the Mona Lisa, in what Culture Minister Rachida Dati described as a professional operation that lasted just a few minutes.

French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin acknowledged security failures on Monday.

“One can wonder about the fact that, for example, the windows hadn’t been secured, about the fact that a basket lift was on a public road,” he said on France Inter radio. “Having (previously) been interior minister, I know that we cannot completely secure all places, but what is certain is that we have failed.”

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez ordered prefects across France to immediately reassess security measures protecting museums and other cultural sites and enhance them if needed.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati said investigators are working on evidence found at the scene.

“We did find motorcycles and they have a license plate,” Dati said on news broadcaster CNews. “I also want to pay tribute to the security officers who prevented the basket lift from being set on fire. One of the criminals tried to set it on fire, but they forced him to flee. This allowed us to recover evidence at the scene.”

Officials said the heist lasted less than eight minutes in total, including less than four minutes inside the Louvre. “They went straight to the display windows, they knew exactly what they wanted. They were very efficient.” Dati said.

Dati stressed that a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan that was launched earlier this year includes security improvements.

“When the Louvre Museum was designed, it was not meant to accommodate 10 million visitors,” she said.

The $760-million plan is intended to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.

Sunday’s theft focused on the gilded Apollo Gallery, where the Crown Diamonds are displayed. Alarms brought Louvre agents to the room, forcing the intruders to bolt, but the robbery was already over.

A worker in the Louvre filmed a person in the Apollo Gallery on Sunday morning wearing a yellow jacket and standing by a glass encasing, according to video viewed and verified by BFM television. It is unclear whether the person is one of the suspects.

Eight objects were taken, according to officials: a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a reliquary brooch; and Empress Eugénie’s diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch, a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble.

One object, the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later found outside the museum, French authorities said.

Corbet writes for the Associated Press.

The Louvre Museum in the French capital has closed for “exceptional reasons” after a group of intruders successfully stole eight pieces of priceless jewellery in a quick-hit heist that has rocked the world’s most-visited museum.

A manhunt for the thieves was under way in Paris on Sunday as police cordoned off the museum – famously home to Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa – with tape and as armed soldiers patrolled its iconic glass pyramid entrance.

French government and museum officials said several intruders entered the Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo’s Gallery) through a window shortly after the museum opened, relying on a lift used to hoist furniture into buildings.

Within just four minutes, the thieves stole away on motorcycles laden with eight items dating back to the Napoleonic era, dropping a ninth on their way out.

French President Emmanuel Macron took to social media to denounce the heist as an “attack on a heritage that we cherish”.

“The perpetrators will be brought to justice,” he added. “Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor’s office.”

Here’s what we know about the heist, which arrives as the Louvre faces questions over large crowds and overworked staff.

What happened?

Around 9:30am local time (07:30 GMT) on Sunday, as tourists already roamed the halls of the Louvre, the thieves zeroed in on Apollo’s Gallery – a gold-gilded, lavishly painted hall commissioned by King Louis XIV that houses the French crown jewels.

Describing the incident as a “major robbery”, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the thieves used a basket lift to reach the museum’s windows, entered the gallery and escaped via motorbike with “jewels of inestimable value”.

The Louvre evacuated all visitors and posted a notice online that the museum would remain closed throughout the day under “exceptional” circumstances.

Police meanwhile sealed the gates, cleared courtyards and even closed off nearby streets along the Seine River as authorities kicked off an investigation.

It was “crazy”, one American tourist, Talia Ocampo, told the AFP news agency – “like a Hollywood movie”.

No injuries were reported, but the thieves – believed to number four people – remained at large as of Sunday evening.

What was stolen during the heist?

Thieves successfully removed eight items from two high-security display cases, the Ministry of Culture confirmed late on Sunday. These include pieces that belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, the wife of French Emperor Napoleon I, and others that belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.

These are the items that were stolen:

• Tiara from the jewellery set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• Necklace from the same duo’s sapphire jewellery set
• A single earring from the sapphire jewellery set
• Emerald necklace from the Marie-Louise set
• Pair of emerald earrings from the Marie-Louise set
• Brooch known as the “reliquary” brooch
• Tiara of Empress Eugenie
• Another large brooch of Empress Eugenie

The crown of Empress Eugenie was recovered outside the walls of the museum, the ministry said, where it was dropped by the thieves as they fled. The crown contains 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, according to the Louvre.

Apollo’s Gallery is home to a range of other priceless gems, including three historical diamonds – the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia – and “the magnificent hardstone vessel collection of the kings of France”, according to the museum’s website.

Anthony Amore, an art theft expert and co-author of the book Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists, told Al Jazeera the items contained in the collection were priceless “not just in terms of dollars, but in terms of cultural patrimony”.

“It’s not like stealing a masterpiece where instantly news media … would publicise this image,” Amore said. “You might see pieces like this broken up and individual jewels sold that are indistinguishable to members of the public.”

How did the thieves do it?

The thieves used a combination of power tools, motorcycles and efficiency to pull off the minutes-long heist, authorities said.

The group drew up on a scooter armed with angle grinders, one police source told AFP. They used the hoist to access the gallery from the outside, cutting windowpanes with a disc cutter.

One witness, who told the TF1 news outlet that he was riding his bicycle nearby at the time, said he saw two men “get on the hoist, break the window and enter”, adding that the entire operation “took 30 seconds”.

Le Parisien reported that the thieves entered the museum – located inside a former palace – via the facade facing the Seine, where construction work is ongoing. Two were dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests, the newspaper said.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati said authorities arrived “a couple of minutes after we received information of this robbery”.

“To be completely honest, this operation lasted almost four minutes – it was very quick,” she said.

Footage showed the hoist braced to the Seine-facing facade and leading up to a balcony window, which observers said was the thieves’ entry point before it was removed Sunday.

What happens now?

With the thieves still at large, forensic teams have descended upon the Louvre and surrounding streets to gather evidence and review CCTV footage from the Denon wing, where Apollo’s Gallery is located, and the Seine riverfront.

Authorities also planned to interview staff who were working when the museum opened on Sunday, they said.

The Interior Ministry said it was compiling a detailed list of the stolen items, but added that “beyond their market value, these items have priceless heritage and historical value”.

Dati, the culture minister, suggested the thieves were “professionals”.

“Organised crime today targets objects of art, and museums have of course become targets,” she said.

Have similar heists happened in the past?

The Louvre’s most famous heist occurred in 1911, when the Mona Lisa portrait disappeared from its frame. It was recovered two years later, but decades afterward, in 1956, a visitor threw a stone at the world-famous painting – chipping paint near the subject’s left elbow and prompting the portrait to be moved behind bulletproof glass.

In recent years, the museum has struggled with growing crowds, which totalled 8.7 million in 2024, and frustrated staff who say they are stretched too thin.

In June, the museum delayed opening due to a staff walkout over chronic understaffing.

One union source, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP that the equivalent of 200 positions had been cut at the museum over the past 15 years, out of a total workforce of nearly 2,000.

The fact that Sunday’s theft took place in broad daylight inspired a wave of consternation from French citizens and politicians.

“It’s just unbelievable that a museum this famous can have such obvious security gaps,” Magali Cunel, a French teacher from near Lyon, told the Associated Press news agency.

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How did the theft unfold?

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What was stolen

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Have similar thefts happened before?

PARIS — In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world’s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift to the Louvre, forced a window into the Galerie d’Apollon — while tourists pressed shoulder-to-shoulder in the corridors — smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.

It was among the highest-profile museum thefts in recent memory and comes as Louvre employees have complained of worker and security understaffing.

One object was later found outside the museum, according to Culture Minister Rachida Dati. French daily Le Parisien reported it was the emerald-studded crown of Napoleon III’s wife Empress Eugénie — gold, diamonds and sculpted eagles — recovered just beyond the walls, broken.

The theft unfolded just 270 yards from the “Mona Lisa,” in what Dati described as “a four-minute operation.” No one was hurt.

Images from the scene showed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine.

Also visible was a lift braced to the Seine-facing facade near a construction zone — an extraordinary vulnerability at a palace-museum.

A museum already under strain

Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the vitrines, officials said. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift.

The choice of target compounded the shock. The vaulted Galerie d’Apollon in the Denon wing, capped by a ceiling painted for Louis XIV, displays a selection of the French Crown Jewels. The thieves are believed to have approached via the riverfront facade, where construction is underway, used a freight elevator to reach the hall, took nine pieces from a 23-item collection linked to Napoleon and the Empress, and made off on motorbikes, according to Le Parisien.

Daylight robberies during public hours are rare. Pulling one off inside the Louvre — with visitors present — ranks among Europe’s most audacious since Dresden’s Green Vault museum in 2019, and the most serious in France in more than a decade.

It also collides with a deeper tension the Louvre has struggled to resolve: swelling crowds and stretched staff. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions say mass tourism leaves too few eyes on too many rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones, freight routes and visitor flows meet.

Security around marquee works remains tight — the Mona Lisa is behind bulletproof glass in a bespoke, climate-controlled case.

It’s unclear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday’s breach.

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 and recovered two years later in Florence.

Today the former royal palace holds a roll call of civilization: Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa”; the armless serenity of the “Venus de Milo”; the “Winged Victory” of Samothrace, wind-lashed on the Daru staircase; the Code of Hammurabi’s carved laws; Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People”; Géricault’s “The Raft of the Medusa.” More than 33,000 works — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to Europe’s masters — draw a daily tide of up to 30,000 visitors even as investigators now begin to sweep those gilded corridors for clues.

Politics at the door

The heist spilled instantly into politics. Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used it to attack President Emmanuel Macron, weakened at home and facing a fractured Parliament.

“The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture,” Bardella wrote on X. “This robbery, which allowed thieves to steal jewels from the French Crown, is an unbearable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the state go?”

The criticism lands as Macron touts a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — about $800 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the “Mona Lisa” a dedicated gallery by 2031. For workers on the floor, the relief has felt slower than the pressure.

What we know — and don’t

Forensic teams are examining the site of the crime and adjoining access points while a full inventory is taken, authorities said. Officials have described the haul as being of “inestimable” historical value.

Recovery may prove difficult. “It’s unlikely these jewels will ever be seen again,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds. “Professional crews often break down and re-cut large, recognizable stones to evade detection, effectively erasing their provenance.”

The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday as police sealed gates, cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the Seine.

Key questions still unanswered are how many people took part in the theft and whether they had inside assistance, authorities said. According to French media, there were four perpetrators: two dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests on the lift, and two each on a scooter.

Investigators are reviewing closed-circuit TV from the Denon wing and the riverfront, inspecting the basket lift used to reach the gallery and interviewing staffers who were on site when the museum opened, authorities said.

Adamson writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.

Thieves have stolen priceless jewels from the Louvre in a brazen heist that only took minutes, according to the French government. The suspects are believed to have escaped on scooters while the world’s most visited museum was forced to close for the day.

Oct. 19 (UPI) — A group of thieves broke into the Louvre Museum on Sunday morning and stole priceless jewels before fleeing on motorcycles, the famed institution confirmed to UPI.

A representative for the Louvre said that several people broke in through a window in the Apollo Gallery, which houses many of France’s royal jewels, around 9:30 a.m. local time after the museum had already opened its doors to the public.

Inside, the thieves stole jewelry from their display cases. French media later reported that they made off with seven jewels owned by Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais.

“An investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled,” museum officials said in a statement. “Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value.”

After the theft, the museum was evacuated “without incident” and no injuries were reported among the public, museum staff or law enforcement, the representative said.

The museum shared on social media that it would be closed Sunday for “exceptional reasons.”

“At the Louvre Museum this morning to commend the exemplary commitment of the staff mobilized following the theft,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati shared on social media after visiting the site.

“Respect for their responsiveness and professionalism. Together with President Emmanuel Macron, we extend our sincere thanks to them.”

Dati told French TV channel TF1 on Sunday that one of the jewels was later found and that the entire heist lasted only four minutes. She called the thieves “professionals.”

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said Sunday that “everything is being done” to find the thieves.

“The mobilization of investigators will be total, under the authority of the Parquet de Paris,” Nuñez said. The Parquet de Paris is the public prosecution office in the French capital. “Attacking the Louvre is attacking our history and our heritage.”

The news comes just days after the Louvre announced that two 18th-century snuff boxes that were stolen during a violent armed robbery in 2024 while they were on loan to the Cognacq-Jay Museum have been found and returned.

June 17 (UPI) — The Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa and other iconic works of art in Paris, closed abruptly Monday as the museum’s staff staged an impromptu strike over a surge of tourists who were left standing in long lines.

Ticket agents, gallery attendants and security refused to return to work, following a morning union meeting, citing overcrowding and understaffing. After four hours of talks with management, the Louvre reopened to confused and tired visitors.

Monday’s strike comes after French President Emmanuel Macron announced earlier this year that the centuries-old Louvre would undergo renovations to include a separate wing for the Mona Lisa to control crowds better.

The “New Renaissance” project, which will repair and modernize the former royal palace, will take a decade to complete. Ticket prices are slated to go up next year for tourists who do not live in the European Union to help pay for the project.

Last year alone, 8.7 million tourists visited the Louvre with many complaining about insufficient signage, tight spaces and lack of restrooms. The Louvre was originally designed to accommodate 4 million visitors a year.

Louvre President Laurence des Cars, who was appointed in 2021, limited visitors to 30,000 a day after attendance surged in 2018 to more than 10 million. He has warned that parts of the museum are “no longer watertight” and that fluctuating temperatures could damage the priceless artwork.

The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, has withstood war, terror, and pandemic – but on Monday, it was brought to a halt by its own striking staff, who say the institution is crumbling under the weight of mass tourism

The Louvre was thrust into shutdown by a staff walkout, with workers arguing it is buckling under the strain of excessive tourism.

In what seemed an unimaginable scene, the sanctuary housing da Vinci masterpieces and centuries of cultural marvels was brought to a halt on Monday. Countless tourists, clutching their entry passes, were left languishing in long queues underneath I. M. Pei’s famed glass pyramid.

Kevin Ward, 62, from Milwaukee, said: “Thousands of people waiting, no communication, no explanation. I guess even (the Mona Lisa) needs a day off.”

The busiest museum in the world was brought to a halt the day after anti-tourism demonstrations rippled through southern Europe. Protesters assembled in Mallorca, Venice, Lisbon and further afield, criticising an economic regimen they claim marginalises residents and undermines city life.

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The Louvre was hit by an unexpected strike during a routine meeting when gallery attendants, ticket agents and security staff refused to work, protesting against overwhelming crowds, insufficient staffing and what has been described by one union as “untenable” working conditions.

It’s a rarity for the Louvre to shut its doors unexpectedly. The museum has closed in times of war, during the pandemic, and on the occasion of a few strikes – including impromptu walkouts due to overcrowding in 2019 and safety concerns in 2013.

However, it is unusual for such closures to occur so abruptly, without prior notice, and in plain sight of waiting visitors.

Moreover, this disruption occurs mere months after President Emmanuel Macron announced an ambitious ten-year plan aimed at addressing the very issues now coming to a head – water damage, hazardous temperature fluctuations, antiquated infrastructure, and visitor numbers exceeding the museum’s capacity.

Yet, for the employees on the front line, the proposed improvements seem a long way off. “We can’t wait six years for help,” declared Sarah Sefian, a gallery attendant and visitor services agent. “Our teams are under pressure now. It’s not just about the art – it’s about the people protecting it.”

At the heart of the turmoil is the Mona Lisa – the iconic 16th-century painting that attracts contemporary throngs more reminiscent of a celebrity meet-and-greet than a traditional art viewing.

An estimated 20,000 visitors cram daily into the Salle des États, the Louvre’s most expansive chamber, all eager to capture a selfie with Leonardo da Vinci’s mysterious lady behind her protective glass. The atmosphere is often chaotic, bustling, and so crowded that numerous visitors overlook the surrounding masterpieces by Titian and Veronese, which remain underappreciated.

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“You don’t see a painting,” lamented Ji-Hyun Park, 28, who travelled from Seoul to Paris. “You see phones. You see elbows. You feel heat. And then, you’re pushed out.”

President Macron’s strategy for revolutionising the museum, labelled the “Louvre New Renaissance,”, aims to offer a solution. The Mona Lisa is set to be housed in a new, specially designated space, with timed-entry tickets to facilitate better viewing experiences.

Plans also include inaugurating a fresh entrance near the Seine River by 2031 to alleviate congestion at the current pyramid entry point. “Conditions of display, explanation and presentation will be up to what the Mona Lisa deserves,” Macron declared in January.

Nonetheless, Louvre staff have accused Macron of hypocrisy, arguing that the proposed 700 million to 800 million-euro renovation plan conceals an underlying issue. Despite Macron’s commitment to creating new access points and exhibition areas, the museum’s yearly governmental subsidies have plummeted over 20% in the past ten years, a period when visitor figures dramatically increased.

“We take it very badly that Monsieur Le President makes his speeches here in our museum,” Sefian remarked, expressing discontent over the state’s diminishing financial contributions year on year.

While many striking staff intend to stay off work for the entire day, Sefian mentioned that some may briefly return to open a limited “masterpiece route” for a few hours, granting visitors access to key attractions like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The full museum is expected to resume normal operations by Wednesday, and tourists with time-sensitive tickets from Monday might have the opportunity to use them then.

The Louvre saw 8.7 million visitors last year, which is more than twice what its facilities were designed for. Despite imposing a daily limit of 30,000 visitors, staff report that the experience has become an everyday challenge, citing insufficient rest areas, scarce bathrooms, and intensified summer heat due to the pyramid’s greenhouse effect.