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Napoleon's jewels missing: Thieves strike Louvre in daring heist, closing museum

With tourists already inside, police say thieves entered a window, smashed display cases, and fled with nine pieces from Napoleon's jewel collection, all in seven minutes.

In a brazen, seven-minute strike, thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre on Sunday morning and, as tourists were already inside, forced open a window, smashed display cases, and fled with jewels of 鈥渋nestimable value,鈥� France's interior minister said.

The world鈥檚 most visited museum closed for the day as police sealed gates and ushered visitors out during the investigation.

鈥淎 robbery took place this morning at the opening of the聽,鈥� Culture Minister Rachida Dati wrote on X. The museum cited 鈥渆xceptional reasons鈥� for the closure. No injuries were reported.

Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced open a window, stole jewels from vitrines and escaped on two-wheelers, according to the Interior Ministry. It said forensic work is underway and a precise inventory of the stolen objects is being compiled, adding that the items have 鈥渋nestimable鈥� historical value. Mr. Dati and Mr. Nu帽ez were on site with museum leadership.

Video from the scene showed confused tourists being ushered out of the glass pyramid and surrounding courtyards as officers shut the iron gates and closed nearby streets along the Seine.

Interior Minister Laurent Nu帽ez called it a 鈥渕ajor robbery,鈥� saying the intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift. He said on France Inter radio that the heist took seven minutes and the thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes. He said it was 鈥渕anifestly a team that had done scouting.鈥�

The heist occurred in the Galerie d鈥橝pollon, a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV鈥檚 court artist, according to the ministry.

French daily Le Parisien reported the thieves entered via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway, and used a freight elevator to reach the gallery.

After breaking windows, they reportedly took nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress. One stolen jewel was later found outside the museum, the paper reported, adding that the item was believed to be Empress Eug茅nie鈥檚 crown and that it had been broken.

Security and staffing at the Louvre in the spotlight

Security around marquee works remains tight. The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom high-tech display system as part of broader anti-theft measures across the museum.

Staffing and protection have been flashpoints at the Louvre. The museum delayed opening during a聽. Unions have warned that mass tourism strains security and visitor management.

It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday鈥檚 theft.

In January, President Emmanuel Macron announced a decade-long 鈥淟ouvre New Renaissance鈥� plan 鈥� roughly 鈧�700 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding, and give the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece its own dedicated gallery by 2031 鈥� but workers say relief has been slow to reach the floor.

Other European museums have been robbed

The theft, which occurred less than half an hour after the doors opened, echoes other recent European museum raids.

In 2019, thieves smashed vitrines in Dresden鈥檚 Green Vault and carried off diamond-studded royal jewels worth hundreds of millions of euros. In 2017, burglars at Berlin鈥檚 Bode Museum stole a 100-kilogram (220-pound) solid-gold coin. In 2010, a lone intruder slipped into Paris鈥檚 Museum of Modern Art and escaped with five paintings, including a Picasso.

The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous聽incident occurred in 1911, when聽聽vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former employee who had hidden聽inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence 鈥� an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci鈥檚 portrait the world鈥檚 best-known artwork.

Home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture, and painting 鈥� from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the classical world to European masters 鈥� the Louvre鈥檚 star attractions include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.