The Louvre robbery that occurred Oct. 19, 2025 shook the world as nine valuable jewels were stolen from the most visited museum in the world. The valuables were from the Apollo Gallery, which displays a variety of French Crown Jewels.
According to NPR, the theft occurred at 9:30 a.m. and was carried out by three masked people on a crane, wearing construction vests. They used a circular saw to cut into a window and enter the gallery. The three figures stole nine pieces of jewelry worth more than $100 million in five minutes, smashing the display cases. Security cameras were cut off from this room, and investigations are still ongoing as to how this was carried out.
French citizens are mourning the loss of their rich history and culture, with many important and symbolic items stolen. The BBC reported that Napoleon III’s wife’s tiara and brooch were stolen, as well as Empress Marie Louise’s emerald necklace and matching earrings. The burglars also took a single earring, necklace and tiara, all of which belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense. Lastly, they took Empress Eugenie’s reliquary brooch and crown, but in their hurry to escape, they dropped her crown. Officials have recovered it and are assessing it for any damage.
According to CNN, the thieves escaped in a hurry on motorbikes, leaving many items at the crime scene from which French police extracted DNA to determine any clues about the masked intruders. The items left behind contained the DNA of two men. The French Banditry Repression Brigade and their forensics team tracked the men’s movements and tailed one of them to the airport, where he planned to board a flight to Algeria. He was arrested, but nothing was found on him or in his luggage. The second man was a taxi driver with a previous history of attempted aggravated robbery. Officials feared that once he heard about his partner’s arrest, he would flee, so they ordered his arrest soon after. Both men partially admitted their involvement Oct. 29. Two other arrests were made afterwards, one a 37-year-old man and his partner, a 38-year-old woman. Both suspects have denied involvement in the crimes. Although various other arrests were made, those individuals were released shortly after. None of the historic jewels have been recovered yet.
Experts say these jewel thieves often disassemble the jewelry pieces, taking the large stones and recutting them into smaller pieces to be sold without suspicion. This would be a huge loss for French history and culture, as the pieces would be destroyed. To avoid more losses, the Louvre director has announced new security measures, including an “anti-intrusion system,” as well as plans to establish an on-ground police station to prevent future thefts.
