Hollywood-style heist at Louvre Museum: Napoleonic jewels stolen

In a Hollywood-style jewellery heist, the Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close on Sunday after thieves made off with nine priceless pieces from the Napoleonic collection. French Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed the robbery on X, stating, “A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum.”

The thieves struck swiftly, arriving between 9:30 am and 9:40 am on a scooter and armed with small chainsaws. They used a freight elevator to access the Apollo Gallery, smashed display windows, and stole jewellery linked to Napoleon Bonaparte and Empress Eugénie. The operation reportedly took just four to seven minutes. Officials describe it as a simple plan executed with remarkable precision, rather than a complex master scheme. While the exact value remains undisclosed, the stolen items are inestimable, both culturally and historically.

In a small breakthrough, Minister Dati later confirmed that one piece, the emerald-studded crown of Empress Eugénie was recovered outside the museum, damaged but identifiable. The remaining eight pieces are still missing, and investigations continue.

The Louvre, a former royal palace until Louis XIV moved to Versailles in the late 1600s, attracts nine million visitors annually and is one of the world’s most visited museums. While the museum has experienced notable thefts before most famously the 1911 _Mona Lisa_ heist—those primarily involved paintings. The _Mona Lisa_ was successfully recovered in 1913 after its thief, Vincenzo Peruggia, tried to sell it in Florence. Other historic thefts, like Gustave Courbet’s _The Wave_ in 1971 and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot’s _Le chemin de Sèvres_ in 1998, remain unrecovered, highlighting the Louvre’s long history of both recovered and missing treasures.

Following the incident, the museum announced its closure “for exceptional reasons.” Minister Dati and police authorities were on site coordinating the investigation. Surveillance footage is being reviewed, though no recordings have been publicly released.

The Louvre is state-owned and administered by the French Ministry of Culture, with museum security and specialized police overseeing high-value collections. This theft has prompted a review of security protocols, particularly in areas undergoing construction. Authorities are working to recover the remaining treasures and prevent future incidents, highlighting the ongoing challenge of protecting France’s irreplaceable cultural heritage.

The drama and daring of the theft have drawn comparisons to Hollywood films and crime novels inspired by real-life art heists, such as _The Thomas Crown Affair_ and Dan Brown’s _The Da Vinci Code_ , which showcase intricate museum thefts and the thrill of stealing priceless art. Documentaries and books on past Louvre thefts, like the _Mona Lisa_ scandal of 1911, have also captivated global audiences, combining suspense, strategy, and historical intrigue.