Louvre Museum Temporarily Shuttered Following Reported Heist, Confirms French Official

In an audacious theft, criminals targeted the Louvre Museum in Paris, making off with invaluable jewelry before fleeing on motorbikes, as confirmed by French authorities on Sunday.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the incident as a “significant robbery” that unfolded in just seven minutes. During an interview with France Inter, he detailed how the perpetrators accessed the museum using a basket lift and employed a disc cutter to breach glass cases housing the treasured items.

“An investigation is underway, and efforts are being made to compile a comprehensive inventory of the stolen pieces,” stated the ministry. “These jewels carry not only significant market value but also immense cultural and historical worth that cannot be quantified.”

The Louvre announced on X that it would be closed for the day due to “exceptional circumstances,” without immediately elaborating on the situation. Fortunately, there have been no reports of injuries.

According to French daily Le Parisien, the thieves entered through a section of the museum under construction along the Seine River. 

The crew reportedly used a freight elevator to access a room in the Apollo Gallery, which houses part of the French Crown Jewels.

The crew stole “nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress,” including a crown believed to have belonged to Empress Eugénie, the newspaper reported. The crown was later found broken outside the museum, the report said.

The Louvre houses over 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture, and painting – from Mesopotamian artifacts and Egyptian relics to masterpieces by European artists. Its iconic treasures include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.