Four men stole nine royal jewels, including Empress Eugénie’s crown, in seven minutes.
The crown was dropped and damaged during the escape outside the museum.
The heist continues a historic pattern of rapid, high-profile art thefts.
The world’s largest art museum, the Louvre, holds about half a million objects, with some 30,000 on display, and receives on average eight million visitors each year. It’s a vast operation, with a great deal to protect — especially on busy Sundays.
According to PTI, four men wearing fluorescent vests arrived at the Louvre at about 9.30 on Sunday morning in a flat-decked truck. In a well-planned move, they raised an extendable ladder to the second storey, cut through a window and entered the Galerie d’Apollon. Armed with power tools, they took nine valuable items — France’s royal jewels, once belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
Their problem now is what to do with the stolen pieces. They can’t be worn without drawing attention, and can’t be sold legitimately, as images of the jewels are widely available online. The best outcome for the thieves, experts say, would be to dismantle them, melt the metals and sell the individual gems.
Among the items taken was Empress Eugénie’s crown, which the group dropped while fleeing on motor scooters. The crown is set with eight gold eagles, 1,354 brilliant-cut diamonds, 1,136 rose-cut diamonds and 56 emeralds — a considerable collection of stones to attempt to sell separately.
Timing And Security
For the Louvre, any theft represents a serious breach of trust and security. Five security staff were nearby at the time and alarms were triggered, but the entire operation lasted only seven minutes. Timing, as history shows, is crucial in art heists.
In 2019, an 18-carat gold toilet titled America by artist Maurizio Cattelan was stolen from Blenheim Palace, England. The piece, weighing 98 kilograms, was removed in five and a half minutes. Two men were later caught and imprisoned; as gold bullion, it was valued at around AUD 6 million.
During the 2020 COVID closure, Van Gogh’s The Parsonage Garden at Neunen in Spring (1884) was taken from the Singer Laren Museum in the Netherlands. It was recovered in late 2023 after an investigation by Dutch art detective Arthur Brand.
Similarly, in 2017, two Gottfried Lindauer portraits were stolen from Auckland’s International Art Centre when thieves ram-raided the auction house. The works, valued at NZD 1 million, were found five years later through an intermediary, with only minor damage.
Recoveries And Repercussions
Recovering stolen art and artefacts remains difficult. PTI reported that global recovery rates may be as low as 10 per cent. Paintings are particularly hard to sell because their appearance cannot easily be altered, while objects made from precious metals and gems can be repurposed or broken down.
In Australia, Picasso’s Weeping Woman (1937) was taken from the National Gallery of Victoria in 1986 by a group calling themselves the Australian Cultural Terrorists. The theft went unnoticed for two days and the work was returned just over two weeks later, left in a locker at Spencer Street station.
That same year, 26 religious paintings were stolen from the Benedictine Monastery at New Norcia, Western Australia. Poor planning meant the thieves couldn’t fit the works into their car; several paintings were cut from their frames and one destroyed. All three men were later caught and charged.
Ongoing Concerns
The recovery rate for art thefts remains low, but history offers occasional reversals. The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 by Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian handyman working at the museum, and recovered two years later when he tried to sell it.
This latest theft again exposes the vulnerability of public collections. The irony, PTI noted, is that such treasures are often gifted to institutions precisely for safekeeping. Yet those responsible for guarding them are usually modestly paid, and when budget cuts occur, security staff are often reduced — as seen last week with the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ announced cuts.
The Louvre’s thieves knew exactly what they wanted. Their motives remain unknown, but the loss deprives visitors of the chance to view objects central to France’s artistic and historical heritage. And, as some have observed, France itself once took treasures from others — making this theft feel, in part, like an uneasy echo of history.
(With inputs from PTI)
