Thieves executed a heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, October 19, 2025, making off with priceless Napoleonic crown jewels in just a few minutes.
AP News reports indicate that the theft occurred approximately 30 minutes after the museum opened to the public, with visitors already inside the building. Using a basket lift positioned against the Seine-facing façade of the museum, the four masked perpetrators forced open a window on the first floor, cut glass panes with a disc cutter, and smashed display cases in the gilded Apollon Gallery, where the museum’s Crown Diamonds collection was on display.
According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, “The thieves used a basket lift to access the room directly, forced a window and broke display cases to steal the jewels, before escaping on two-wheelers.”
Details Of The Treasures Stolen From The Louvre Museum
Officials have confirmed that eight pieces were stolen from the Napoleon and Empress’ jewelry collection in the Apollo Gallery. The stolen items include a sapphire diadem, necklace, and single earring from a matching set connected to 19th-century French royalty, specifically Queen Marie-Amelie, the last queen of France. The sapphire necklace is reportedly adorned with eight sapphires and 631 diamonds.
The thieves also took an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, along with a reliquary brooch and Empress Eugénie’s diadem, brooch, and decorative bow — a highly valued 19th-century imperial ensemble, with the diadem alone containing nearly 2,000 diamonds.
According to CNN, French authorities later recovered one object outside the museum, identified by French media as the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, which contains more than 1,300 diamonds and 56 emeralds. Reports indicate that the recovered crown was broken.
Security Concerns At The World’s Most Visited Museum
The successful theft has exposed security vulnerabilities at the Louvre. A preliminary investigation has revealed that one in three rooms in the raided area of the museum had no CCTV cameras. French Senator Natalie Goulet told the BBC that “it is difficult to understand how it happened so easily” and mentioned that the gallery’s localized alarm was recently broken, adding that “we have to wait for the investigation in order to know if the alarm was disactivated.”
The museum has been struggling with swelling crowds and stretched staff in recent months, with union representatives repeatedly warning about inadequate security coverage across the vast museum complex.
