Louvre Museum Temporarily Shuts Down Following Bold Daytime Robbery
Armed thieves stole “priceless” jewelry from a gallery in the Louvre Museum in Paris in broad daylight on Sunday, October 19. Laurent Nuñez, France’s interior minister, told *France Inter* that burglars broke into the Galerie d’Apollon around 9:30 am, half an hour after the museum opened to the public, and made off with “historical” pieces in a span of just seven minutes before fleeing on motorcycles.
Though the exact inventory of stolen items has yet to be made public, the Louvre’s d’Apollon gallery is known for its display of France’s crown jewels. *Le Parisien* reported that one of the stolen jewels — the diamond-encrusted crown of Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III — was later recovered outside the museum.
Tourists in line to enter the museum this morning told the *BBC* that they were quickly ushered out by security guards. The Louvre’s website says that the museum remained closed for “exceptional reasons” on Sunday and that visitors will be reimbursed for their tickets.
*Hyperallergic* has contacted the Louvre for comment.
The thieves allegedly used a mechanical ladder known as a basket lift to access the second-floor gallery, forced a window, and smashed the display cases in what Nuñez described as an expert operation executed by professionals.
“We saw some footage, they don’t target people, they enter calmly in four minutes, smash display cases, take their loot, and leave. No violence, very professional,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati told the French news channel *TF1*.
Dati said on X that there were no injuries to report. The French government has enlisted a specialized police force to investigate the robbery.
The Louvre, which is the world’s most visited museum, drawing over 30,000 visitors per day, is no stranger to art heists. In 1911, one of its own employees notoriously made off with the Mona Lisa. He was arrested years later and the painting was returned. More recently, in 1998, a painting by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was snatched directly from a wall. It has never been found.