On October 19, a bold and audacious jewelry theft occurred at the Louvre Museum in Paris, which has been described by local newspapers as the “heist of the century”. The incident has raised questions about the museum’s security measures, as well as speculation about the identities of the masterminds behind the theft.
The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, attracting nearly 9 million visitors annually. The theft, which took place in broad daylight, has prompted discussions about the effectiveness of the museum’s security protocols and has led to comparisons with other high-profile heists in recent history.
Special investigators are currently working around the clock to apprehend those involved in the crime. Let’s delve into the details of this daring heist that lasted only a few minutes and why experts are concerned that the stolen treasures may never be recovered.
In the morning of October 19, several masked thieves used a cherry picker mounted on a truck to ascend to the second floor of the museum, broke through a window from the outside, and entered an exhibition hall where the French royal jewels were stored, making off with numerous precious artifacts.
Prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed to French TV that the thieves carried out the robbery at 9:30 a.m. local time, just half an hour after the museum had opened to the public. They approached the Louvre along the Seine River, climbed the cherry picker’s retractable ladder, and entered through the window of the Galerie d’Apollon building. Although the thieves did not carry traditional weapons, they threatened the museum guards with angle grinders used to cut open the museum’s windows.
According to Le Monde and other French media reports, the group of thieves consisted of four individuals, with two dressed as construction workers in reflective yellow vests. Two arrived by truck, while the other two arrived on motorcycles.
As the thieves fled the scene on motorcycles, they attempted but failed to set fire to the cherry picker.
Following the robbery, alarm bells rang throughout the museum, prompting an immediate evacuation of visitors. The museum remained closed until October 20.
The thieves targeted nine precious items, stealing eight of them. The prosecutor stated that during their escape, one of the thieves dropped the ninth artifact – a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. This crown, as described on the museum’s website, is adorned with 1354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.
Alexander Giquello, the CEO of Drouot auction house based in Paris, estimated the value of the crown to be “tens of millions of euros.” He indicated that among the stolen items, the crown was not the most important treasure.
Among the stolen treasures reported by the French Ministry of Culture were:
1. A tiara from a sapphire jewelry set worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense;
2. A necklace from the sapphire set;
3. An earring from the sapphire set;
4. A necklace from the emerald jewelry set of Empress Marie-Louise;
5. A pair of emerald earrings from the same set;
6. A reliquary brooch worn by Empress Eugénie;
7. A large bow brooch worn by Empress Eugénie;
8. A tiara worn by Empress Eugénie.
The reason why the thieves did not take the Regent diamond stored in the Galerie d’Apollon remains a mystery. Sotheby’s, headquartered in New York, disclosed that the diamond is valued at over 60 million dollars.
Prosecutor Beccuau immediately stated after the theft that all possibilities are being considered in the investigation, with a comprehensive approach being taken, although foreign involvement is not a primary assumption of the investigators.
She suggested that the theft might have been commissioned by collectors, raising the possibility of recovering the stolen treasures intact. However, it’s also likely that the theft was carried out by criminals interested solely in the monetary value of the jewelry and precious metals.
“We are looking into the possibility of organized crime,” Beccuau mentioned, noting that the perpetrators could be acting on behalf of buyers looking for a quick return on investment or seeking to launder money through the stolen jewelry.
“Any crime could now be related to drug trafficking, as it generates huge sums of money,” she added.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that a specialized police team with a high success rate in solving major robbery cases is leading the investigation into this heist.
The theft has reignited intense debates surrounding museum funding. Despite museums becoming increasingly targeted by thieves, their security measures are far less stringent compared to banks.
Earlier this year, officials of the Louvre urgently appealed to the French government for funding to renovate and refurbish the aging exhibition halls in the museum to better protect the countless art treasures housed within.
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on X platform that the government’s new plan for the Louvre, announced in January with a budget of 700 million euros, will “strengthen security measures”. However, despite the significant investment promised by the French government, museum staff went on strike in June due to concerns that the high volume of visitors posed a safety risk.
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati, during an inspection of the crime scene on October 20, stated that security issues at museums are not new.
“For 40 years, few have paid attention to the security issues of these large museums. Two years ago, the Louvre museum director even requested a security review of the museum by the police chief. Why did he do that? Because the museum must adapt to new forms of crime,” she mentioned. “Today, criminals are organized criminals – they are professional criminals.”
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin declared that this crime has brought shame upon France. Opposition politicians criticized the government, accusing them of creating a national disgrace while the country is mired in a political crisis.
Christopher Marinello, founder of Art Recovery International, an organization specialized in recovering stolen artworks, stated, “The Louvre is one of the wealthiest museums in the world. If the Louvre can be targeted for theft, then every museum is at risk.”
French officials announced on October 20 that France will review the protection of cultural sites nationwide and enhance security where necessary.
This recent heist is not the first time the renowned Paris museum has faced theft. In the past, the Louvre has been the target of several thefts, some of which have even been made into movies.
One of the most famous and audacious art thefts in history occurred in 1911 when a former employee familiar with the layout and security of the Paris museum, stole the world-renowned painting “Mona Lisa”.
Thief Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian house painter, disguised himself as a staff member, entered the museum, hid in a cabinet overnight, and managed to remove the masterpiece by Da Vinci, sneak it out of the Louvre. Peruggia kept the painting hidden in his Paris apartment for two years until he was caught trying to sell the artwork.
In court, Peruggia argued that he believed the painting belonged to Italy and that his theft was driven by ideology rather than monetary motivation. Consequently, he served only seven months in prison.
The incident on October 19 marks the first theft at the Louvre since 1998 when a painting by French landscape and portrait painter Camille Corot was stolen, which remains unrecovered to this day.
Just the previous month, criminals broke into Paris’ Natural History Museum, stealing $700,000 worth of gold samples. Similarly, in September of this year, thieves stole a vase and two dishes from a museum in the central French city of Limoges, with a combined value of $7.6 million.
One of the largest art thefts in American history occurred at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston where 13 pieces of art were stolen. The case remains unsolved after 35 years.
In 2010, self-proclaimed “French Spiderman” Vjeran Tomic stole five famous paintings from the Musee D’Art Moderne but has yet to be apprehended. Tomic, in an interview with The New Yorker, described his criminal acts as “an act of imagination”.
According to international estimates, less than ten percent of stolen artworks are recovered successfully.
Experts indicate that these artworks in their current form are “completely unsellable”, suggesting that they may be dismantled and re-cut to lower the risk of detection when they enter the jewelry and metal markets.
Giquello told Reuters, “Ideally, the thieves should understand the severity of their crime, realize it’s a dead-end, and return these jewelry items because they are essentially unsellable.”