The Louvre Heist, the Stolen Crown Jewels, and the Aftermath

Christopher Cox 

Staff Writer

On Oct. 19, four men broke into the Louvre Museum, stealing many precious items of French history. The theft went as follows: “two men broke into the Louvre’s gilded Apollo Gallery and used a disc grinder to crack open two bulletproof display cases, grabbing precious items,” according to Paris’s chief prosecutor, Laure Beccuau (NY Times). 

These two individuals, along with the stolen jewels, met up with two other men, each on a scooter, and left the scene (The Guardian). The heist lasted less than seven minutes (The Guardian), and the thieves spent around four minutes in the museum (ABC News). 

Some of the objects these thieves made out with were a sapphire diadem, a necklace, a single earring from a set linked to 19th century Queens Marie-Amelie and Hortense (PBS). Specifically, the eight items stolen were: a tiara from the jewelry set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense, a necklace from the sapphire jewelry set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense, an earring from a pair of the sapphire jewelry set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense, an emerald necklace from the Marie-Louise set, a pair of emerald earrings from the Marie-Louise set, a brooch known as the reliquary brooch, a large bodice knot (a brooch) of Empress Eugenie, and the Tiara of Empress Eugenie (Reuters). 

The tiara worn by France’s last empress Eugenie, was encrusted with 212 pearls and around 3,000 diamonds (NY Times). Additionly, the diamond and emerald-studded crown of Empress Eugenie was stolen, but later found damaged outside the museum, and will be restored (PBS). It is estimated that these four thieves made off with more than $100 million of France’s crown jewels (NY Times). The location of the remaining eight items is unknown. 

Out of the four thieves, three have been arrested by the Paris Police, due to DNA evidence being left at the site of the crime (NY Times). The evidence left behind includes a glove, motorcycle helmet, the truck used to enter the second story window, and their DNA (NY Times). Only one person has been identified to the public by the prosecutor, Abdoulaye N., a 39-year-old man (NY Times). He has not been to trial, as of Nov. 16 (NY Times). 

So far, two of the three men in custody, charged with entering the Louvre, admitted to being members of the heist, but minimized their role, according to chief prosecutor Ms. Beccuau (NY Times). The fourth thief has yet to be arrested by French authorities, as of Nov. 16 (NY Times). 

In the aftermath of this heist, many have raised questions about the security of the Louvre. Laurence Des Cars, the museum’s director, has been pushing for the modernization of the museum since she was named its head in 2021 (PBS). 

The issues she listed were, the obsolescence of the technical facilities, dilapidation of the museum, structural concerns about welcoming visitors and the pyramid being too crowded (originally built for four million visitors, the museum is now consistently welcoming nine million people), and the Mona Lisa’s display being “unsatisfactory” (PBS). 

These comments came a day after France’s court of auditors urged the Louvre to “speed up” the modernization plan of its security, released in a report conducted from 2018-2024 and before the robbery (PBS). The decade-long plan includes “security improvements…estimated to cost $933 million to modernize the museum’s infrastructure, ease crowding, and give the Mona Lisa its own dedicated gallery space by 2031” (PBS).