SHAH ALAM – In what French officials are calling a “humiliation” and “an attack on history,” masked thieves executed a daring daylight robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, making off with priceless Napoleonic jewels in less than ten minutes.
According to The Guardian, four balaclava-clad robbers pulled up along the River Seine around 9.30am on Sunday, just as the museum opened to visitors.
Armed with power tools and a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift, the gang used the contraption to reach a second-floor balcony leading to the Galerie d’Apollon, home to France’s historic crown jewels.
Once inside, they smashed through display glass, threatened guards, and seized eight valuable pieces of 19th-century jewellery once belonging to French royalty and empresses.
BBC reported that the suspects “entered calmly” before cutting through reinforced glass cases, with alarms blaring as visitors were evacuated.
Investigators said the entire robbery lasted no more than seven minutes.
The thieves then escaped on two scooters, leaving behind some equipment and even dropping Empress Eugénie’s crown, found damaged along the getaway route.
What was stolen
Among the stolen treasures were a tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III; an emerald necklace and matching earrings from Empress Marie-Louise; a sapphire set that included a tiara, necklace and single earring once worn by Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense; as well as a reliquary brooch adorned with diamonds and precious stones.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the stolen artefacts as “priceless” and “of immeasurable heritage value.”
However, the robbers missed the Regent Diamond, one of the Louvre’s most valuable gems, estimated to be worth over £45 million, according to Sotheby’s.
A well-planned operation
French police told The Guardian that the heist appeared to be the work of a highly organised crime group, with 60 investigators now on the case.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati said Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage showed the suspects “moving with precision,” adding that they seemed “experienced and well-prepared.”
Meanwhile, Natalie Goulet, a member of the French Senate’s finance committee, told the BBC that one of the gallery’s localised alarms had been out of order before the theft.
“We are all disappointed and angry. It’s difficult to understand how it happened so easily,” she said.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin later admitted there were serious security lapses, acknowledging that thieves were able to “park a furniture hoist in central Paris and steal national treasures in broad daylight.”
A blow to France's cultural pride
The theft has sparked outrage across France, with President Emmanuel Macron calling it “an attack on our history.”
Opposition leader Marine Le Pen described it as “a wound to the French soul,” while Jordan Bardella of the National Rally labelled it “an intolerable humiliation.”
The Louvre Museum, the world’s most visited, has remained closed since Sunday as forensic teams sweep the site. It said in a statement that all visitors with advance tickets would receive automatic refunds.
Officials have not yet announced when the museum will reopen, though it typically remains closed on Tuesdays.
Not the Louvre’s first heist
The Louvre has a long and infamous history of thefts.
In 1911, Italian decorator Vincenzo Peruggia stole the Mona Lisa by simply lifting it off the wall and hiding it in his apartment for two years. The painting was later recovered and is now displayed behind bulletproof glass.
Sunday’s theft is the first at the museum since 1998, when a 19th-century painting by Camille Corot vanished and has never been recovered.
Art crime expert Chris Marinello of Art Recovery International told the BBC that there is now “a race against time,” warning that the thieves might disassemble the jewels.
“They’re not going to keep them intact. They’ll melt down the metal, recut the stones, and destroy evidence of their crime,” he said.
Security under scrutiny
The heist has renewed debate over security at France’s museums, which have been repeatedly targeted in recent months.
In September, thieves stole €9.5 million worth of porcelain from a museum in Limoges, while in November last year, robbers raided the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris, stealing seven items “of great heritage value.”
The French government had already promised a major security overhaul under President Macron’s New Renaissance Project, worth up to €800 million (£695m), a plan that now feels more urgent than ever.