Louvre closed after robbers flee with Napoleon-era jewellery: Report
Nine pieces of jewellery reportedly stolen from Apollo Gallery via freight elevator near construction site; authorities close museum but tight-lipped about theft
The famed Louvre museum was closed on Sunday (October 19) after a robbery was reported.
While the authorities did not disclose the nature of the robbery, French daily Le Parisien reported that “nine pieces from the jewellery collection of Napoleon and the Empress” had vanished.
Authorities tight-lipped
“A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” French culture minister Rachida Dati wrote on X on Sunday. Dati said she was on site and that an investigation was underway.
The Louvre said it would close “for exceptional reasons”, offering no further details on the heist. No injuries were reported.
According to Le Parisien, the criminals entered the world’s most visited museum and former palace via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway. The report said they used a freight elevator to gain direct access to the targeted room in the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking windows, they reportedly stole the aforementioned jewellery collection.
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Louvre’s history of thefts
The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous was in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat.
It was recovered two years later in Florence — an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait the world’s best-known artwork.
In 1983, two Renaissance-era pieces of armour were stolen from the Louvre and only recovered nearly four decades later. The museum’s collection also bears the legacy of Napoleonic-era looting that continues to spark restitution debates today.
French Crown Jewels among exhibits
The Louvre is home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters. Its star attractions include the Mona Lisa, as well as the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
The Galerie d’Apollon, where Sunday’s theft reportedly took place, displays a selection of the French Crown Jewels. The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.
(With agency inputs)