On October 19th, 2025 eight items were stolen from the Louvre. All it took was eight minutes, four people, and two scooters to break in, but the real question is what impact will this have?
The robbers took eight items that were from the 19th century of the ministry culture sort. A tiara and brooch belonging Empress Eugenie, Napoleon III’s wife, emerald necklace and pair of emerald earrings belonging to Empress Marie Louise, tiara, necklace and single sapphire earing belonging to Queen Mare-Amelie and Queen Hortense, and a brooch called the “reliquary brooch” were the items stolen; these precious tokens of French history consisted of thousands of precious gems and priceless to French culture. So far, only Empress Eugenie’s crown has been found, but was damaged along the escape route.
Many wonder how a museum that holds invaluable pieces of history could be so easily broken into and stolen from. Reports say that the gallery’s localized alarm was recently broken, though they will have to wait for the investigation to see if the alarm had been deactivated. It was also discovered that the CCTV cameras in one of the three rooms in that area had been shut off. However, the robbers’ plan was intricate. Four suspects are said to have arrived on a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to access the Gallery of Apollo by a balcony, then two of the thieves cut through a window with power tools to get inside the museum, threatened guards to evacuate, cut through the glass of two display cases containing jewels, and finally made their escape on two scooters waiting outside. Later, the thieves attempted to set the lift on fire, but a museum staff-member was able to interfere. A culture minister told French news outlets that the theft entered looking calm and since no one was injured in the heist, they were most likely experienced, especially because of the effectiveness of their escape plan.
Currently, the heist has led to political outcry in France, some saying it is an attack on French culture and history, as well as Marine Le Pen of Front Nationale going as far as to say it is a “wound to the French soul”. Earlier this year there was a request made by the Louvre to the French to receive funding to renovate the exhibition halls as well as improve protection of the art. The French President responded by pledging a “New renaissance” project worth around 700 million to 800 million euros. The Louvre is currently closed with no current date set to be reopened to the public. Right now, two suspects are in custody, but not much has been released to public regarding the investigation. This is common in French criminal practice due to their strict privacy laws and values of innocent until proven guilty; these practices help to prevent compromising the investigation and ensuring the criminal’s right to privacy.
There is no information about the motivation behind this event at this time, but many remain hopeful in the return of these items as well as change to prevent these crimes in the future.
References
Aikman, I., & Hagan, R. (2025, October 20). Everything we know about the Louvre jewelry heist. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7nrlkg0zxo
Vaux-Montgany, N., & Metz, S. (2025, October 27). What to know about the Louvre heist investigation after 2 arrests. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-to-know-about-the-louvre-heist-investigation-after-2-arrests