The Louvre is a museum in Paris that is known for housing famous historical pieces, such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The museum also holds work from ancient Egypt; Greek, Roman, French, and Islamic paintings, sculptures, and artifacts are also on display.
The Louvre has recently gained a lot of attention due to a recent break-in. On October 19, 2025, four masked thieves stole eight pieces of jewelry, worth over $100 million. Included in the stolen pieces were crown jewels, including an emerald necklace from Napoleon, and a tiara, brooch, and diadem from Empress Eugenie. Some of the other jewels stolen belonged to Queen Marie-Amelia and Queen Hortense.
The robbery took seven minutes to complete, and only four of those minutes were spent inside the museum. The heist occurred due to a lack of security in the room containing the jewels and was the first robbery from the Louvre since 1998 when Le chemin de Sèvres was stolen.
At about 9:30 am local time, 30 minutes after the museum opens to the public, the robbers used an electrical lift system to break in through a window located on the second story of the museum. The lift used was a type of furniture lift that is common in France. The thieves then used a disc grinder, a type of saw that can cut through glass, to gain entry to the Louvre. When they entered the gallery, the thieves set off an alarm, calling security. When security arrived, the robbers threatened them with power tools, grabbed nine pieces of jewelry, and left.
As soon as the jewels were in their possession, they exited the building and met up with their accomplices outside. During this process, one jewel was dropped (the Crown of Empress Eugenie) but the thieves managed to get away with the other eight pieces. Once on the street, they met up with two other accomplices and escaped using high powered electrical scooters. Before they fled, they attempted to set fire to the basket of the lift but were unsuccessful. As they left, they dropped a yellow vest and angle grinders.
As of November, four suspects have been arrested: A 34-year-old man, 39-year-old man, 37-year-old man, and 38-year-old woman. Three of the four were suspected to have taken part in the robbery; the other is being held as an accomplice because of her relation to one of the other suspects.
