On October 19, 2025, in France, thieves carried out a robbery at the Louvre Museum.  This robbery took place while the Museum was open for the day.  It was only about 30 minutes after the Museum opened that the thieves entered, dressed as construction workers, and stole nine pieces of jewelry.

They entered the Museum on the second floor, using a truck equipped with a mounted ladder.  This kind of machinery is common to see on the streets in Paris.  They did trigger the alarm when they went into the Apollo Gallery.

 However, the robbery only took about seven minutes from start to finish. The pieces that they stole are considered priceless; some of the items include a royal sapphire necklace, a royal emerald necklace, and a diadem that was reportedly worn by Empress Eugenie, who was the wife of France’s 19th Century Leader, Napoleon III. However, the thieves were in such a hurry to escape that they dropped the crown. That item alone has 1,354 diamonds, 1,136 rose-cut diamonds, and 56 emerald jewels.

After they escaped, the thieves met up with two other conspirators and left on motorbikes.  Over 60 detectives were working this case. They were reviewing cameras in the Museum and discovered that less than half of the cameras in the entire Museum were actually working.

 It is estimated that the net worth of the items they stole was $102 million. Thankfully, within a week, two of the robbers were arrested. Later, three more individuals were arrested for this robbery, but the person believed to have planned it is still at large.

Authorities state that they do know who this person is, but have not located him yet.  Just recently, authorities in France announced that they believed they had found where the jewels were stored, but they were not recovered. This robbery has brought to light the ineffectiveness of the security within the Museum and the protocols that existed.

Current internal investigations are expected to prevent future thefts.