Armed with power tools, a crane lift and a plan straight out of a heist movie, four thieves broke into the Louvre on Sunday and made off with royal jewels once worn by France’s queens and empresses, officials told NBC News.
The group used power tools to shatter display cases, threatened guards and fled on scooters — leaving behind a trail of clues, including Empress Eugénie’s crown, apparently dropped during the escape.
The Ministry of Culture confirmed the jewels stolen include a necklace and a pair of earrings from the Marie-Louise collection; a necklace, earrings and tiara from from the Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense collection; and a brooch, bodice bow and a tiara from the collection of Empress Eugénie. Investigators said they found two of the stolen pieces, including Eugénie’s crown, near the scene, suggesting the thieves lost them while fleeing.
A brazen daytime heist
The break-in happened at around 9:30 a.m. local time as the museum was opening, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told radio station France Inter. Two people, with their faces concealed, used power tools to break into the Galerie d’Apollon through a window, the prosecutor's office said. The crew had brought a crane lift mounted on a truck and appeared to have scouted the location in advance.
Nuñez said the “experienced” thieves broke into the gallery with a disc cutter. The stolen jewels had been kept behind glass inside the gallery, he added. The daring morning heist, which lasted just seven minutes, forced the museum to close for the day, officials said.
The break-in triggered alarms on the exterior of the window of the Galerie d’Apollon and on the two high-security display cabinets targeted by the thieves inside the gallery, the Ministry of Culture in Paris said Sunday, describing the brazen theft as “particularly rapid and brutal.”
Five museum workers were in the room and adjacent rooms and immediately contacted police, the culture ministry said.
The thieves targeted two glass display cabinets housing “priceless” jewels and threatened guards, who evacuated the premises, the prosecutor’s office said.
The Ministry of Culture credited the quick-thinking employees and their calls to police with prompting the thieves to flee, leaving behind their equipment and some of the stolen items.
Before fleeing the scene, the thieves allegedly attempted to set fire to the crane lift they had used, the prosecutor's office said. A museum worker thwarted that attempt, the culture ministry said.
An image from the scene showed what appeared to be a furniture elevator propped up against a balcony, with police gathered nearby to cordon off the area.
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati said earlier on X that “no injuries were reported.”
A recent string of heists
The Galerie d’Apollon — or Apollo Gallery — is home to many of France’s crown jewels and historic diamonds. It also features hard-stone vessels collected by French kings, including jade and rock crystal, according to the Louvre’s website.
Nuñez said the museum was evacuated “mainly to preserve evidence and clues so that investigators could work undisturbed.”
“I expect we will very soon find the thieves and jewels,” he added.
An investigation into organized theft and criminal conspiracy to commit crime has been launched by the Paris public prosecutor’s office, a source inside the office told NBC News.
Video posted on X this morning and verified by NBC News showed crowds of people leaving the museum.
“My first visit to the Louvre Museum ended with not seeing a single artwork,” one user posted alongside video of people exiting the Louvre.
The theft is just the latest in a wave of heists hitting cultural institutions across France.
Thieves broke into the National Museum of Natural History in Paris last month and made off with samples of raw gold worth about $700,000, officials said.
The Louvre, the world’s most visited museum, hosts millennia of civilization’s greatest treasures. Its most famous work of art is the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, a 16th-century portrait that depicts an Italian noblewoman with a mysterious smile.
It’s rare for the Louvre to close its doors.
It has happened during war, during the Covid-19 pandemic and in a handful of strikes.
The museum was shut down in June by its own striking staff, who said the facility was crumbling under the weight of mass tourism.
