The criminals stole eight pieces of historic jewellery belonging to Napoleon and Joséphine
A CHAINSAW-wielding gang has pulled off one of the most daring raids in living memory after they stormed the Louvre in Paris and stole tens of millions worth of jewellery.
The seven-minute smash-and-grab heist saw “highly organised” thieves scale the side of the world-famous museum before smashing inside and making off with a stash of some of the world’s premier treasures.
Police near the pyramid of the Louvre museum after reports of a robberyCredit: Reuters
French police officers stand next to a furniture elevator used by robbers to enter the Louvre MuseumCredit: AFP
Highly organised criminals stole eight pieces of historic jewellery belonging to Napoleon and JoséphineCredit: AFP
The four men pulled up on scooters to the museum at around 9:30am, targeting the side of the Apollo Gallery building facing the River Seine.
Inside, the gallery houses some of France’s most precious treasures – including the royal jewels.
A cherry-picker gave access to the first floor, and they climbed onto the balcony.
They then used a glass cutter to break through the window – with two of the gang dashing inside while one stayed as lookout.
The gang are thought to have been equipped with power tools – including chainsaws – to smash their way in and bust open two display cabinets.
Over the course of just seven minutes, the thieves grabbed nine glittering pieces from the Napoleon and Empress Joséphine collection – but dropped one as they tore off.
Among the missing items are a necklace, brooch and tiara, according to Le Parisien.
The thieves then fled on TMax scooters towards the A6 motorway.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez branded the lightning-fast theft a “major robbery”.
Among the treasures ripped from display cases was the famed Eugénie Crown — a dazzling Second Empire piece created in 1855 and encrusted with thousands of diamonds and emeralds.
Worn by Empress Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, the crown was found tossed below a Louvre window and damaged after the gang made off.
Alexandre Giquello, president of the Drouot auction house, said the crown alone was worth “several tens of millions of euros—just this crown. And it’s not, in my opinion, the most important item.”
Tourists fled in panic from the Louvre after the dramatic robbery forced the evacuation and closure of the world’s most-visited museum.
France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati announced on X: “A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the @MuseeLouvre.
“No injuries to report. I am on site alongside the museum teams and the police. Investigations underway.”
The museum confirmed an unscheduled full-day closure “for exceptional reasons”.
Officers were later seen inspecting the giant ladder, which the thieves had driven to the scene on the back of a flat-bed truck and left propped against the historic stone walls.
Investigators believe the robbers were possibly working on commission.
List of looted treasures
THESE are the eight “priceless” pieces of jewellery stolen in the smash-and-grab raid on the Louvre museum in Paris.
• Tiara from the set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• Necklace from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• Earring, from the pair belonging to the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
• Emerald necklace from the Empress Marie Louise set
• Pair of emerald earrings from the Empress Marie Louise set
• Brooch known as the “reliquary brooch”
• Tiara of Empress Eugenie
• Large corsage bow brooch of Empress Eugenie.
Another item – the crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie – was reportedly recovered from outside the window but broken.
Detectives from the Banditism Repression Brigade (BRB) of the Judicial Police are leading the investigation, alongside the Central Office for Combating Trafficking in Cultural Property.
Nuñez said CCTV footage is being studied and “it’s not impossible that the perpetrators are foreigners.”
Sources believe the haul may never reach the black market.
Those behind such high-value thefts often act on the orders of wealthy collectors, meaning the pieces are likely to be hidden away and privately enjoyed by the criminal mastermind who commissioned the raid.
The stolen collection, built after Napoleon and Joséphine were crowned Emperor and Empress in 1804, is among the most opulent in French history.
Chaos inside the Louvre as thousands tried to exit the museumCredit: X/@gregraspoutine via Storyful
French police seen outside the popular museumCredit: Supplied
The gang gained access via a freight elevator from the Seine River side during construction workCredit: AFP
Some pieces were looted from royalty during the French Revolution, while others were seized from across the Napoleonic Empire.
Shocked visitors described scenes of confusion and chaos as news of the robbery spread.
One tourist told The Sun: “We got to the plaza around 10am and there were thousands of people queuing all the way around. By about 10.30 staff started telling us the Louvre was closed for the day because someone had tried to steal something inside.
“Ten minutes later more police turned up and they began evacuating everyone — it got pretty chaotic.
A Forensics Officer examines the cut window on the balcony where the thieves broke inCredit: Getty
Forensic police officers arrive at the Louvre museumCredit: Reuters
The Crown of Empress Eugénie was found broken into pieces below the windowCredit: AFP
“People were still trying to take selfies as police pushed them out, and there were military on the scene and more than a dozen police vehicles. I even saw what looked like detectives heading inside.”
Another British visitor, 38, added: “It was very exciting being on the scene when the drama happened, like something out of The Da Vinci Code!
“Almost made up for the disappointment of not being able to go in, as we’re leaving tomorrow.
“For about half an hour there were sirens going off all around the building and nobody knew what was going on. It definitely adds a bit of drama to the holiday we can tell people about in the future!”
A ladder used by thieves is seen at the Louvre museumCredit: AP
Investigators are on the scene following this morning’s robbery at the LouvreCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Police units swarmed the area as thousands of visitors were evacuated and told to stay away.
The investigation, now under way, will seek to determine how criminals breached one of the most secure cultural sites in Europe.
The Louvre is a global symbol of French culture and home to masterpieces including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.
The most visited museum in the world, it draws around 8 to 9 million visitors each year.
It also holds around 380,000 objects, with more than 35,000 on display.
The Louvre’s collection is estimated to be worth tens of billions of pounds, making it one of the most heavily guarded museums on earth.
This latest raid is far from the first time Paris has been rocked by high-end art thefts — including at the Louvre itself.
A robbery at the Louvre on Sunday morning caused tourists to flee in panicCredit: Supplied
The museum is closed for the day due to exceptional reasons following the incidentCredit: Supplied
The most infamous came in 1911, when Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th-century Mona Lisa was stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a museum employee who hid in a cupboard overnight to take the painting.
It was recovered two years later when he tried to sell it to an antiques dealer in Florence.
Despite repeated promises by authorities to tighten security, thieves continue to target the city’s cultural treasures.
In November 2024, axe-wielding robbers struck the Musée Cognacq-Jay in broad daylight, stealing seven prized snuffboxes — including two loaned by the British Crown — in a raid that triggered a £3 million insurance payout to the Royal Collection Trust.
And in 2010, five masterpieces by Picasso and Matisse worth nearly £100 million vanished from the Paris Museum of Modern Art.
Three men were eventually jailed in 2017 for up to eight years over the spectacular burglary.
Visitors walk under the Louvre Pyramid designed by Ieoh Ming Pei at the Louvre Museum in ParisCredit: AFP
