Louvre Heist Leaves France Reeling After €88 Million Jewel Theft
Paris, Oct 22 (UNI) – In a bold daylight robbery at the Louvre Museum, jewelry worth €88 million (£76m; $102m) has been stolen, according to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, who called the loss “extraordinary” but said the greater tragedy lies in the blow to France’s cultural heritage.
Among the treasures taken were royal jewels once belonging to Queen Marie-Amelie and pieces gifted by Emperors Napoleon I and Napoleon III to their wives. The thieves, armed with power tools, executed the heist in under eight minutes shortly after the museum opened on Sunday.
Authorities discovered a damaged crown once owned by Empress Eugenie along the thieves’ escape route, suggesting a hurried departure. The culprits—four masked individuals—used a modified truck with a lift to reach the Galerie d’Apollon via a balcony, cutting through glass with a battery-powered saw before threatening guards and forcing an evacuation.
Though they attempted to burn their getaway vehicle, a museum employee intervened, and the thieves fled on scooters. President Emmanuel Macron condemned the theft as an attack on France’s heritage, while security has since been tightened across national museums.
A preliminary report revealed that one in three rooms in the Louvre lacked CCTV coverage and that the alarm system failed to activate. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin admitted security “failed completely,” calling the incident a “terrible image for France.”
Experts believe the robbers were professionals and warn that if not recovered quickly, the jewels may already be dismantled, melted down, and smuggled abroad for a fraction of their true worth.
Paris, Oct 22 (UNI) – In a bold daylight robbery at the Louvre Museum, jewellery worth €88 million (£76m; $102m) has been stolen, according to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, who called the loss “extraordinary” but said the greater tragedy lies in the blow to France’s cultural heritage.
Among the treasures taken were royal jewels once belonging to Queen Marie-Amelie and pieces gifted by Emperors Napoleon I and Napoleon III to their wives. The thieves, armed with power tools, executed the heist in under eight minutes shortly after the museum opened on Sunday.
Authorities discovered a damaged crown once owned by Empress Eugenie along the thieves’ escape route, suggesting a hurried departure. The culprits—four masked individuals—used a modified truck with a lift to reach the Galerie d’Apollon via a balcony, cutting through glass with a battery-powered saw before threatening guards and forcing an evacuation.
Though they attempted to burn their getaway vehicle, a museum employee intervened, and the thieves fled on scooters. President Emmanuel Macron condemned the theft as an attack on France’s heritage, while security has since been tightened across national museums.
A preliminary report revealed that one in three rooms in the Louvre lacked CCTV coverage and that the alarm system failed to activate. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin admitted security “failed completely,” calling the incident a “terrible image for France.”
Experts believe the robbers were professionals and warn that if not recovered quickly, the jewels may already be dismantled, melted down, and smuggled abroad for a fraction of their true worth.
