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Entry through basket lift, heist in 7 minutes: How thieves stole jewellery from Louvre museum
The robbery at Louvre Museum in Paris took place around 9:30 am in just seven minutes. Thieves entered by cutting a window and stole several pieces of jewellery
A major robbery took place at the famous Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, which led to the closure of the museum for a day. The thieves reportedly entered through an area under construction, cut the window and stole pieces of jewellery in just seven minutes.
France’s cultural minister, Rachida Dati, confirmed the news by posting on X that a robbery took place in the Louvre this morning, while also stating that no injuries were reported.
How did the robbery take place?
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called the heist a “major robbery,” saying the intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift.
The minister said the heist took seven minutes and the thieves used a disc cutter to slice through the panes. He said it was “manifestly a team that had done scouting.”
The thieves entered the world’s most visited museum through the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway. Following this, they used a freight elevator to gain direct access to the targeted room in the Apollo Gallery.
The Interior Ministry also said that the robbery happened around 9:30 a.m, when the museum had already opened its doors to the public. The intruders cut the windows with a floppy disk, stole jewels from vitrines and fled on two-wheelers.
The minister also said that forensic work is underway and a precise inventory of the stolen objects is being compiled.
Also read: Louvre museum of Paris evacuated, shut after robbery
What was stolen?
Several pieces of jewellery were stolen from the Napoleon collection. France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that jewellery stolen from the Louvre Museum on Sunday in Paris was "priceless".
The thieves focused on two displays in the exhibition venue's "Galerie d'Apollon" ("Apollo's Gallery"). Le Parisian also reported that nine pieces were stolen from the jewellery collection of Napoleon and the Empress and that one stolen jewel was later found outside the museum. Citing early investigative findings, the paper said it was believed to be Empress Eugénie’s crown and that it had been broken.
The Galerie d'Apollon, where the robbery took place, displays a selection of the French Crown Jewels.
The museum has seen several attempted robberies in the past, with the most famous being in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame. It was stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. The painting was recovered two years later in Florence
After the robbery on Sunday, the museum was closed for the day, citing "exceptional reasons". The police have sealed off the museum and evacuated the visitors.
