Napoleon, Who Stole the Jewels of Others, Has His Own Stolen

A manhunt is under way after thieves broke into the Louvre and stole “priceless” jewellery that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte’s family.

The gang entered the Apollo Gallery in broad daylight shortly after 9.30am, once the gallery had opened to the public, and stole nine items including a necklace, a brooch and a tiara.

The masked criminals arrived on high-powered scooters and reportedly gained access to a part of the building where construction was taking place after using a van-mounted extendable ladder to enter on the Seine River side of the museum.

They then forced open a window, smashed display cases, grabbed the jewellery and left.

Laurent Nuñez, France’s interior minister, called it a “major robbery by a team that had done scouting” and said that jewellery stolen from the museum on Sunday was “priceless”.

He added that the thieves had taken just “seven minutes” to carry out the heist.

The theft occurred in the Apollo Gallery, a vaulted hall in the Denon wing that displays part of the French Crown Jewels beneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV’s court artist, according to the ministry.

Mr Nuñez told Le Monde newspaper that “three or four thieves” had broken into the Apollo Gallery minutes after the museum opened to the public.

The Louvre was evacuated after the raid and will be closed for the rest of the day.

The Apollo Gallery, which the museum calls “Sun, Gold and Diamonds”, reopened in 2020 after closing for renovations the year before.

The opulent, gold-gilded hall houses 23 of the museum’s most valuable French crown jewels and precious stones.

Le Parisien newspaper reported that one of the items taken was the Eugénie Crown. However, the gang appear to have dropped and broken it while making their escape.

Empress Eugenie was the wife of Napoleon III, who was emperor from 1852 to 1870.

Mr Nunez did not rule out the possibility that the raiders were from outside France. “We are working to find the culprits very very quickly,” he said.

He confirmed that an investigation had been launched into “theft and criminal conspiracy to commit a crime” by an organised gang.

Rachida Dati, France’s culture minister, said the value of the stolen jewellery is currently being assessed. 

She said: “Organised crime is now targeting art objects, and museums have become targets. We must adapt these museums to these new forms of crime. They are professionals.”

Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris Centre, told Le Parisien that the unexpected closure of the museum and surrounding area, which has been cordoned off, is causing a major disruption to public order.

He said: “It’s a shock… It’s been a movie script up until now. It’s hard to imagine that it’s seemingly so easy to rob the Louvre.”

According to police sources who spoke with Le Parisien, the attack had been meticulously planned.

The thieves reportedly broke through the windows of the museum using small chainsaws before fleeing on motor-scooters.

In a statement, the interior ministry said that no injuries were reported during the heist.

“The investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled. Beyond their market value, these items have priceless heritage and historical value,” the statement said.

The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, said on X it would remain closed for the day for “exceptional reasons”.

The jewels in the Apollo Gallery, a collection assembled by the kings of France, are featured in display cases in the centre of the hall and are organised thematically: jewels prior to the revolution; jewels of the first empire; and the jewels of the second empire.

Louis XIV’s collection alone comprised 800 pieces. Other precious stones and minerals in the collection include agate, amethyst, lapis lazuli, jade, sardonyx and rock crystal.

According to Le Parisien, the largest diamond and centrepiece of the Apollo Gallery, the Regent, which weighs over 140 carats, was not stolen.

Other diamonds include the Sancy, which weighs 55 carats, and the pink-hued Hydrangea, which clocks in at 21 carats.

Staffing and protection have been flashpoints at the Louvre. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions have warned that mass tourism strains security and visitor management.

It was not immediately clear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday’s theft.

The Mona Lisa is protected by bulletproof glass and a custom high-tech display system as part of broader anti-theft measures across the museum.

In January, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, announced a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan, with roughly €700 million pledged to modernise infrastructure and ease crowding.

The Louvre is the latest victim of brazen heists across France.

Last month, thieves stole €600,000 (£521,000) worth of gold from the mineralogical gallery at the Natural History Museum in Paris, after reportedly sawing through an emergency door and using a blowtorch to break through the display case windows and seize the gold nuggets.

A few days earlier, the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges was robbed of two Chinese trays worth more than €6m (£5.21m). The museum boasts the largest public collection of Limoges porcelain in the world.