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In a daring daylight robbery on Sunday, October 19, 2025, thieves infiltrated Paris's Louvre Museum and seized several priceless pieces from the French crown jewels collection. The heist occurred around 9:30 a.m., just before the museum opened to the public.
The perpetrators, disguised as construction workers, accessed the Galerie d’Apollon using a mobile freight elevator equipped with a metal ladder. They broke into the gallery by cutting a window with an angle grinder, then smashed two display cases containing the jewels. The thieves swiftly collected their loot and fled the scene on motorcycles, completing the operation in under seven minutes.
Among the stolen items were nine pieces of jewelry with "inestimable heritage and historical value," including crowns, necklaces, earrings, and brooches. These items once belonged to Emperor Napoleon and his wife, Empress Josephine. The stolen pieces include a diadem from Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, an emerald necklace and earrings from Marie-Louise, and a large bow brooch from Empress Eugénie's bodice.
Several people disguised as construction workers broke into the world-famous Louvre museum in Paris, cracking open display cases and stealing jewelry of "inestimable heritage and historical value."
— ABC News (@ABC) October 19, 2025
Here's a look at the stolen pieces: https://t.co/kDl2KFdgMM pic.twitter.com/IxNfGGJDWw
Following the theft, the museum was closed for the day to preserve evidence and allow investigators to assess the situation. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the robbery as an attack on France's heritage and vowed to recover the stolen items. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office is treating the incident as an aggravated theft by an organized gang and a criminal conspiracy to commit a crime.
Source: ABC News
