On the morning of Oct. 19, 2025, four thieves used a truck-mounted lift to reach a window of the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon, cut their way in with power tools, smashed two display cases and escaped on scooters with eight pieces of the French crown jewels. The theft took about seven minutes. The jewels — including a diamond-and-emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise — were valued at about €88 million, or roughly $102 million.

The thieves dropped one piece as they fled: the crown of Empress Eugénie, which was found outside the museum, damaged but salvageable.

The security failures

The heist set off a national debate about how one of the world's most famous museums could be robbed in broad daylight.

  • A camera pointing the wrong way. Testifying before the French Senate, Louvre President Laurence des Cars acknowledged that the only exterior camera near the Apollo Gallery faced away from the window the thieves used. She called the theft "a terrible failure" and blamed years of underinvestment in the museum's perimeter security, while insisting the alarms inside the gallery had worked.
  • "Louvre" as a password. French newspaper Libération reported that past security audits had found the password to the museum's video-surveillance server was simply "LOUVRE" — a revelation that became a symbol of the museum's neglected security.
  • Slow detection. Des Cars told senators that the museum's security systems "did not detect the arrival of the thieves soon enough."

The arrests

Police arrested two suspects about a week after the theft, one at Charles de Gaulle Airport as he prepared to leave the country; DNA traces helped identify them. Five more people were detained days later, and four others in late November (CBS News; Al Jazeera). Prosecutors charged the main suspects with organized theft and criminal conspiracy. Several of those detained were later released.

What happened next

  • The jewels are still missing. As of the latest reporting, the seven pieces the thieves escaped with had not been recovered. Experts have warned the gems could be broken up and recut, destroying much of their historical value.
  • A "sponsor." In June 2026, the two main suspects told investigating judges they had been recruited by an unnamed backer just days before the robbery (ARTnews). Investigators are still trying to identify who ordered the theft.
  • The gallery reopened — empty. When the Apollo Gallery reopened to visitors, the cases that once held the crown jewels stood bare (ABC News).

Sources