By Ghazali Ibrahim
In the early hours of Sunday, October 19, 2025, the Louvre Museum in Paris became the stage for one of the most audacious art thefts in recent memory.
Around 9:30 a.m., four masked individuals scaled the museum’s façade using a cherry‑picker lift and broke into the Galerie d’Apollon, home to France’s historic crown jewels.
In less than eight minutes, the thieves smashed display cases and made off with eight invaluable royal jewellery items, including a sapphire‑studded tiara and an emerald‑set necklace once belonging to Empresses Marie‑Louise, Eugénie and Queen Marie‑Amélie.
One of the items, a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie, was later found damaged outside the museum.
The heist has triggered both a nationwide security response and fierce criticism of museum safeguarding.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin admitted that “we failed” in protecting French heritage, while Culture Minister Rachida Dati described the act as “very professional” and likely orchestrated by organized crime.
The Louvre was shut down for the day as 60 investigators were deployed, CCTV footage analysed and forensic teams scoured the site.
President Emmanuel Macron condemned the theft as “an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history,” pledging that the stolen treasures will be recovered and the perpetrators brought to justice.
As Paris reels from the heist, questions loom over museum funding, security infrastructure and oversight especially at a time when the Louvre is undergoing a major renovation.
For now, the missing jewels remain in the hands of thieves, and the world’s most‑visited museum searches for answers.
