Masked operatives executed a brazen robbery at Paris' Louvre Museum on Sunday morning, deploying chainsaws and mechanized equipment to steal nine pieces of historic French crown jewelry, officials confirmed.
PANIQUE TOTALE au Musée du Louvre évacué d'urgence 🤯 Braquage confirmé par Rachida Dati. pic.twitter.com/p2c1Eo5XjT
— Raspoutine (@gregraspoutine) October 19, 2025
The gang accessed the institution at 9:30 a.m. by deploying a cherry picker-style ladder mounted on a truck and shattering windows with small chainsaws before entering the Galerie d'Apollon, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported, The Independent stated. Three to four thieves fled on a scooter with jewelry pieces from Napoleon and Empress Marie-Louise after a seven-minute heist, though one crown was recovered at the scene, Culture Minister Rachida Dati informed TF1, according to The Independent.
Minister Nuñez described it as a "major robbery" on France Inter radio, noting "individuals entered from outside with a cherry picker" and stole "priceless jewellery" from what was "clearly a team that had been scouting" the building, Le Parisien reported, according to The Independent. The ministry characterized the stolen objects as items of "inestimable" historical significance while compiling their precise valuation.
The Parisian Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation into suspected "organized theft and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime," with support from an investigative service combating illegal trafficking of cultural goods, The Independent noted. "The damage is currently being assessed," officials stated. "Investigations are ongoing."
Public members were evacuated from the Louvre as French police sealed access to the museum, including one major riverbank road, the BBC reported, according to The Independent. The institution announced it would remain closed Sunday due to "exceptional reasons," with videos surfacing showing tourists being guided from the museum and surrounding courtyards.
🇫🇷 #France Louvre Robbery in 7 Minutes — Criminals Acted Like in "Ocean's Eleven"
Unknown perpetrators pulled off a daring robbery at the Louvre, entering the Apollo Gallery using a cherry picker through a building under construction. The entire heist took just 7 minutes.… pic.twitter.com/TCYAGN8sxu— Military Conflicts (@Alex_RobertsJ) October 19, 2025
The Galerie d'Apollon houses remaining French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV's court artist, while the Louvre itself contains iconic works including Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and draws millions of visitors annually, The Independent reported.
"They broke a window and went towards several display cases where they stole jewellery," Nunez stated, according to Sky News. "These are jewels that have genuine heritage value and are, in fact, priceless."
The heist lasted seven minutes, Nunez told France Inter radio, while the interior ministry confirmed the criminals escaped on two motorbikes, Sky News reported. Authorities stated no injuries occurred during the incident.
The perpetrators demonstrated thorough preparation and had previously surveyed the location, Nunez said, explaining they severed window panes "with a disc cutter" before departing "on a TMAX," referring to a Yamaha maxi-scooter model, Sky News reported.
Forensic examination is currently in progress and an itemized inventory of the stolen objects is being assembled following the intrusion, which occurred between 9:30 and 9:40 a.m. local time (8:30-8:40 a.m. UK time), the French government stated, according to Sky News.
The perpetrators allegedly fled with nine jewellery pieces including a necklace, a brooch and a tiara from the Napoleon and French Sovereigns display cases, Le Parisien reported, according to Sky News.
Two suspects operated inside while a third remained outside, Le Parisien stated, according to Sky News. One of the taken gems, thought to be Empress Eugenie's crown, was subsequently discovered broken outside the museum, the newspaper reported, according to Sky News.
Social media users shared images and videos from inside and outside the structure, with one displaying people exiting in what the user characterized as "total panic," according to Sky News.
One individual on X who claimed to be present described a chaotic scene of police "running" near the museum's iconic pyramid "and trying to enter... from glass side doors but they were locked and they could not enter," according to Sky News.
