US Edition4 Minutes, 1 Window: How Thieves Pulled Off the Quickest-Ever Heist at Louvre Museum
Thieves used power tools and a basket lift to steal historic Napoleonic jewels in a professional four-minute raid, with some items dropped during their escape, officials said.
- On Oct. 19, 2025, four masked men scaled a balcony at the Louvre Museum, Paris and stole eight pieces of Napoleonic jewelry in a four-minute heist around 9.30 am, escaping on motorbikes.
- Amid the museum's long history of thefts, including the famous 1911 Mona Lisa theft, officials say museums were never built for today's criminal sophistication and call for modern security investment.
- The culture ministry says the missing pieces include tiaras, necklaces, brooches and emerald earrings belonging to Empresses Eugénie and Marie Louise and queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense, while the crown of Empress Eugénie was dropped and later found broken with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.
- The Louvre said it would remain closed 'for exceptional reasons' while the Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation led by a specialised anti-art theft unit; a manhunt is under way and no arrests have been made.
- Staff prevented an attempted arson after the raid, and thieves were stopped trying to burn their getaway vehicle while guards were threatened but unharmed.
14 Articles
14 Articles
catholicworldreport.com
Catholic News AgencyLouvre heist robs France of Empress Eugénie’s devout Catholic legacy
French Police officers seal off the entrance to the Louvre Museum after a jewelry heist on Oct. 19, 2025, in Paris. / Credit: Kiran Ridley/Getty Images Paris, France, Oct 21, 2025 / 13:07 pm (CNA). The Louvre Museum in Paris became the scene of... [...]
The most beautiful jewels of the French Empire were taken from the Louvre. In September, two other museums were robbed. There are common elements in the cases, but the police are not yet saying that there is a connection. The pattern is worrying, and the Ministry of Culture and the Interior have announced measures.
First Footage Shows Louvre Thief Drilling Into Display During Shocking Daylight Heist
New footage is giving the public a first look at one of the four masked men who scaled a balcony at the Louvre in France on Sunday and successfully made off with eight pieces of Napoleonic jewelry in a meticulously timed heist. Armed with power tools and dressed in high-visibility jackets, the gang broke through a second-floor window of the country’s most famous museum, accessing the Apollon gallery via a maintenance area, where the French crown…
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