What jewels did the Louvre thieves steal, and how did it take them only seven minutes?
It took only seven minutes for four people to steal priceless objects from an area that houses the French crown jewels at Paris' Louvre museum—and it all happened in broad daylight.
The thieves struck at around 9.30 a.m. when the museum had already opened its doors to the public. They entered Galerie d'Apollon through a powered, extendable ladder used for hoisting furniture into buildings and relied on a crane to smash an upstairs window, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on BFM TV.
The robbery was carried out by unarmed individuals, though they threatened the guards with angle grinders.
A total of nine objects were targeted by the criminals, and eight were actually stolen. The thieves lost the ninth one during their escape on motorbikes, Beccuau said.
The Culture Ministry said the following eight pieces were stolen:
- Tiara, necklace, and earring from the jewellery set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense
- Tiara of Empress Eugénie
- Emerald necklace and emerald earrings from the Marie-Louise set
- Large bodice knot (brooch) of Empress Eugénie and reliquary brooch
The crown of Empress Eugenie was found outside the museum. The thieves apparently dropped the piece, made of gold, emerald and diamonds, as they made their getaway.
The robbery raises awkward questions about security at the museum, where officials had already sounded the alarm about lack of investment at a world-famous site, home to artworks such as the Mona Lisa, that welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024.
"The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our History," President Emmanuel Macron said on X. "We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice."
