A masked gang has carried out a daylight raid on the Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing nine pieces from France’s crown jewels before escaping on mopeds.
The BBC says the robbery took just minutes and happened shortly after the museum opened to visitors. French officials described the stolen pieces as priceless, and the museum was evacuated and closed while a manhunt got under way.
The thieves appear to have used a mechanical ladder to reach a first-floor window and battery-powered disc cutters to break into display cases. That combination suggests a carefully planned operation with a clear route in and out rather than a smash-and-grab theft.
Four people were involved, according to Paris prosecutors. Two entered the building and threatened guards once inside, while a vehicle-mounted extendable ladder was found near the scene. The BBC says the gang also tried to set fire to their vehicle before fleeing, but were stopped by a museum staff member.
Among the items taken were a brooch that once belonged to Empress Eugénie and a pair of emerald earrings. The crown belonging to Eugénie was found nearby after apparently being dropped during the escape, and investigators are checking it for damage.
The theft matters because the objects are not just valuable in monetary terms. They are part of France’s national heritage and are tied to the 19th-century royal and imperial history displayed in the Galerie d’Apollon, the section targeted by the thieves.
Paris Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the robbery lasted only a few minutes, but the cultural loss is harder to measure. Items like these can be broken down, recut or melted, making them attractive to criminals even when their historical identity makes them difficult to sell intact.
The BBC also notes that the Louvre remained closed on Sunday as tourists were moved out and the area was secured. That closure underlines the scale of the disruption at one of the world’s most visited museums.
The investigation will now focus on how the gang gained access, how they moved the stolen items out of the gallery and whether the attack was linked to a wider organised-crime network. The speed and confidence of the operation suggest significant planning.
For France, the raid is both a security failure and a symbolic wound. A theft from the Louvre is not only about valuable objects; it is an assault on the country’s cultural memory. The BBC report captures both the brazenness of the crime and the urgency of the response.
