The keys to the Louvre heist: Seven minutes, four thieves and an electric ladder to access the Crown Jewels

The robbery suffered this Sunday at the Louvre Museum is already being described as the theft of the century, a heist straight out of a movie. The value of the stolen pieces is difficult to calculate, because they are part of France’s history. The attackers breached the security of the world’s most visited museum, carried out the robbery in seven minutes, and fled on high-powered motorcycles.

How did the attackers gain access to the museum?

There were four thieves. Two on high-powered motorcycles, the other two in a four-wheeled vehicle. The museum had just opened. It was between 9:30 and 9:40 on Sunday morning, and there were already people inside. The robbers made their way to the Galerie Apolon façade facing the Seine, and accessed a first-floor balcony using a truck-mounted electric ladder similar to those used for moving furniture through apartment windows. The hooded men threatened the officers in the gallery with the grinders, which they then used to break the display cases. They stole nine objects and fled the same way they had arrived: on motorcycles.

The entire operation lasted about seven minutes. According to both Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Culture Minister Rachida Dati, it is clear that these were professional thieves, who “had previously reconnoitered the area” to determine their entry route. Prosecutor Laure Beccuau has suggested an organized group of thieves.

An investigation into organized crime has been opened, but the assailants have not yet been found. Of the nine stolen pieces, the police have found one, a crown that belonged to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, which they dropped during their hasty escape.

How did they get around the Louvre security?

This is the big question. The Louvre Museum is one of France’s national emblems, the most visited art gallery in the country and the world. Therefore, it is also one of the best protected. In 2024, 8.9 million people passed through its galleries, around 30,000 each day. Two-thirds of visitors are foreign tourists. Opened in 1793, the Louvre covers a total of 24 hectares and is the largest museum in the world. It houses the largest collection of ancient art, with more than 30,000 works on display. Among the most famous and visited ones are the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the Venus de Milo. According to a statement by the Ministry of Culture, the “theft was swift and brutal,” The five officers present in the gallery and adjoining spaces quickly activated the security protocol: calling law enforcement and evacuating the area. The prosecutor explained that the alarms were triggered, but that “either the officers didn’t hear them or they didn’t go off in the gallery.”

What objects does the Apollo gallery contain?

The Apollo Gallery is located on the south side of the Louvre Museum and displays the most important objects from the history of France, what is left of the Crown Jewels. Their value is incalculable. It is one of the most spectacular galleries in the museum and one of the most visited. In addition to artworks and frescoes, the gallery displays a total of 23 jewels, some dating from before the French Revolution, and including the most valuable diamonds in the collection, the Regent and Sancy. There are also jewels from the era of Napoleon Bonaparte, during the First Empire, and from the Second Empire as well. From this latter period, there are jewels that belonged to Eugenia de Montijo, better known as Empress Eugénie and wife of Napoleon III. The room was renovated in 2019 and inaugurated in January 2020.

What is known about the stolen pieces?

The list was officially announced at the last minute. It consists of nine objects that belonged to the queens Marie-Amélie, wife of Louis-Philippe I, and Hortense, married to Louis Bonaparte and mother of Emperor Napoleon II. Among the jewels there are a diadem, a sapphire necklace, two pairs of earrings, an emerald necklace, a diadem belonging to Empress Eugénie, and two brooches.

Of the nine stolen pieces, only the crown belonging to Empress Eugénie has been recovered. The crown has more than 1,300 diamonds and 56 emeralds and was found outside the museum, after the robbers lost it during their escape.

Has the Louvre suffered other thefts?

This isn’t the first theft to occur at the iconic museum. The most notorious robbery involved the theft of the Mona Lisa, a work by Leonardo da Vinci and the most visited object inside the Louvre. It happened on August 21, 1911, when a former employee named Vicenzo Peruggia, a native of Italy, entered the gallery while it was closed and stole the painting. No one noticed until the next day. The work was recovered two years later. The Mona Lisa has been vandalized before, and in January of last year, two activists threw soup on the painting. Since it is protected by glass, it was not damaged.

Is there a security problem in French museums?

This unusual robbery, worthy of a movie, highlights the security gaps at some French cultural centers, as attacks have occurred at three museums across the country in recent weeks. Last Sunday, four individuals entered the Jacques Chirac Museum in Corrèze, in the central western region, armed with a weapon. It was also during daylight hours, and they stole a collectible watch. They managed to escape but were arrested days later.

The National Museum of Natural History in Paris was also robbed a few weeks ago. Several individuals entered the premises and stole gold nuggets valued at €600,000 (nearly $700,000). On the night of September 3-4, the alarm went off in the early hours of the morning at the Adrien Debouché Museum in Limoges, in southwest France. The center houses a vast collection of ceramics. The thieves broke a window, entered one of the galleries, and stole several Chinese ceramics from the 14th and 15th centuries, estimated to be worth €7 million ($8.2 million). As the president of the Louvre Museum, Laurence des Cars, said on Sunday, these events demonstrate that “our museums are no longer watertight.”

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