How did the burglary happen?
On Sunday morning, shortly after the Louvre opened, the famous Parisian museum was broken into between 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. Four men arrived on scooters along the Quai François Mitterrand, on the Seine River. Construction work was underway there. Two of them, dressed as construction workers in high-visibility vests, managed to enter the building using a ladder lift. They broke a window and entered the Apollo Gallery on the first floor. The others stood guard outside.
What was stolen?
The thieves clearly targeted the Apollo Gallery, one of the museum's most spectacular rooms. It houses the crown jewels of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the first President of the French Republic (1848-1852) and the last French emperor known as Napoleon III (1852-1870), and his wife, Empress Eugenie. Two glass display cases were broken into to steal the jewels.
The French Ministry of Culture confirmed Sunday evening that nine pieces from the collection had been stolen. Eight of these items are missing, including Empress Eugénie's diadem and two necklaces. One stolen jewel was recovered near the museum: Eugénie's crown, which consists of no fewer than 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds. The crown was damaged during the theft.
The collection also includes a 140-carat diamond, the Régent, but it was not stolen.
What was it like at the Louvre?
According to the French Ministry of Culture, the burglary was"very swift and brazen." Alarms were triggered by the smashed window in the Apollo Gallery and the two display cases. The five guards present immediately contacted the police and evacuated the visitors. The Louvre was already open when the burglary occurred. The museum was immediately evacuated and remained closed for the rest of the day.
The vehicle carrying the ladder lift was removed in the afternoon. According to Parisian prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the moving lift was placed there by the perpetrators themselves, she told the French television channel BFMTV. This indicates the burglars were well prepared.
It is not yet known whether the museum will reopen its doors on Monday.
What do we know about the thieves?
The perpetrators fled the scene on a scooter, heading towards the A6 motorway. This was captured on video footage. They are currently still at large.
The Paris prosecutor's office confirms it is searching for four perpetrators. Police have launched an investigation and are examining, among other things, CCTV footage and several items left behind by the robbers. These include two angle grinders, gloves, and a walkie-talkie. The moving lift has also been seized.
According to the Solidaires union, this"highly organized break-in" points to "security breaches of unprecedented severity," which were "largely foreseeable." The union points to the responsibility of the Louvre's management and calls on French President Emmanuel Macron and Culture Minister Rachida Dati to "heed the staff's warnings."
How does French politics respond?
According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, the burglary lasted barely seven minutes. He said it was"clearly a team that did its homework." He called the robbery "an attack on our history and heritage."
Minister of Culture Dati told public broadcaster TF1 that "the vulnerability of museums is a long-standing problem." She added that a security plan is needed and that "our museums must be adapted to these new forms of crime."
The far-right Rally National party has criticized the attack."This robbery, which allowed the thieves to steal France's crown jewels, is an unbearable humiliation for our country," said Jordan Bardella, president of RN, on X.
Disbelief is also being expressed within the right-wing party Les Républicains."France has been robbed," proclaims Laurent Wauquiez. Eric Ciotti, who was expelled from the party last year for advocating for a coalition government with the Rassemblement National, is furious. He described the theft of the crown jewels as"the ultimate symbol of the government's downfall" and said that "if the state no longer guarantees the security of its treasures, the entire nation is threatened."
President Macron remained silent throughout the day, though according to the Élysée Palace, he was being kept informed in real time. On Sunday evening, he did post a message on X."The theft at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is part of our history," Macron wrote."We will find the works and the perpetrators will be brought to justice."
Macron was going to renovate the Louvre, right?
In January of this year, Macron announced a major renovation of the Louvre. The Mona Lisa, the museum's main attraction and the main draw of the crowds, would be given a separate entrance.
The announcement came after Louvre director Laurence des Cars raised the alarm about water leaks, failing infrastructure, and temperature fluctuations that were jeopardizing the conservation of artworks. She also said a visit to the museum had become a"physical ordeal" due to the limited facilities and excessive crowds.
On June 16, Louvre employees went on strike to raise awareness of the staff shortages to ensure the safety of all the works. The museum was closed for a few hours as a result.
“The Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance project, which we launched in January, includes increased security,” Macron wrote on X. “It will guarantee the preservation and protection of what constitutes our memory and our culture.”
Has there been a burglary before?
Several French museums have recently been targeted by burglaries and thefts. In September, for example, €600,000 worth of gold nuggets were stolen from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. That same month, two Chinese porcelain bowls and a vase, worth €6.5 million, were stolen from a museum in Limoges.
The Louvre has also been a victim of burglary before. In 1976, three burglars broke into the museum early in the morning and stole a diamond-encrusted sword that had belonged to the French king Charles X. In 1990, Renoir’s painting Portrait of a Seated Woman was cut from its frame and stolen.
The most famous Louvre theft occurred in 1911. Employee Vincenzo Peruggia walked out with the Mona Lisa wrapped under his coat, believing it belonged in Italy. The painting wasn't rediscovered in Florence until two years later, adding to the myth.
