One of the world’s most iconic museums has been hit by masked thieves with chainsaws who carried out their broad daylight heist in just seven minutes.
Now “priceless” jewellery is confirmed stolen.
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati took to social media to confirm the incident, which happened around 9:40 am local time (6.40pm Sydney time), reassuring the public that no one had been injured in the brazen theft.
“No injuries to report,” Ms Dati wrote on social media.
“I am on site alongside the museum teams and the police. Investigations underway.”
French media reports three masked men broke into the Louvre shortly after opening time this morning.
They reportedly used an outside lift being used for renovation work to get access to the Apollo Gallery, on the River Seine side of the gallery.
It is the area where what remains of France’s crown jewels is kept.
The thieves reportedly broke windows to get in and took nine items of jewellery before escaping on a motor scooter.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez confirmed that jewellery stolen from the Louvre Museum was “priceless”.
The minister told French news outlets that “three or four” thieves had focused on two displays in the exhibition venue’s Apollo’s Gallery, completing their broad daylight robbery in just seven minutes.
The Louvre Museum announced via its official X account that it “will remain closed today for exceptional reasons”, no doubt leaving thousands of tourists disappointed as one of Paris’s premier attractions shut its doors.
One visitor, Tom, posted images and video to X showing visitors briefly locked inside the museum.
“Security and members of the public locked inside the Louvre after its robbery today,” he wrote.
The Louvre houses some of the world’s most valuable and famous artworks, including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the Ancient Greek statue Venus de Milo.
The museum, which sits on the banks of the Seine River in the heart of Paris, attracts approximately 9 million visitors each year, making it the world’s most visited museum.
French police are continuing their investigation into the robbery.
Previous robberies at the Louvre include:
1911: The Mona Lisa
Vincenzo Peruggia dressed as a museum employee and hid in a closet before taking one of the world’s most famous artworks off the wall of the Louvre – Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The theft of the painting made it even more famous, and it was two years before it was returned.
1976: King Charles X’s Sword
Three masked burglars broke into the Louvre museum at dawn by climbing a metal scaffolding and smashing unbarred windows before stealing the diamond‐studded sword of King Charles X from a showcase. It remains missing.
1983: Renaissance-era armour
Two pieces of Renaissance-era armour vanished from the Louvre’s collections overnight. Baroness Salomon de Rothschild had bequeathed the armour to the French state in 1922. Milanese metalworkers likely created the intricate pieces between 1560 and 1580. The armour has since been located and returned.
1990: Renoir’s Portrait of a Seated Woman
Richard Etoh-Mvondo was charged with the theft of the painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1990, which was cut from its frame during visiting hours. An alarm installed to protect the painting had malfunctioned. The painting had been hidden by Etoh-Mvondo in Lyon, some 460km southeast of Paris.
1998: Corot’s Painting
A small painting by the 19th century French artist, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, was sliced out of its frame in an unguarded room in the Sully Pavillon. It is still missing.
