Thieves steal crown jewels in 4 minutes from Louvre Museum [View all]

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https://apnews.com/article/france-louvre-museum-robbery-a3687f330a43e0aaff68c732c4b2585b

Thieves steal crown jewels in 4 minutes from Louvre Museum
By THOMAS ADAMSON
Updated 11:37 AM CDT, October 19, 2025


Thieves used a basket lift to break into the Louvre on Sunday morning, forced a window, smashed display cases and escaped with jewels of “inestimable value,” France’s interior minister said, as the world’s most visited museum closed for the day during the investigation. (AP video shot by Alex Turnbull)


A basket lift used by thieves is seen at the Louvre museum Sunday Oct.19, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Alexander Turnbull)

PARIS (AP) — In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world’s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre ’s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.

The daylight heist about 30 minutes after opening, with visitors already inside, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory and comes as staff complained that crowding and thin staffing are straining security.

The theft unfolded just 250 meters (270 yards) from the Mona Lisa, in what Culture Minister Rachida Dati described as a professional “four-minute operation.”

One object was later found outside the museum, Dati said. French media identified it as the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds. It was reportedly recovered broken.

Images from the scene showed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine. No one was hurt.

Also visible was a lift braced to the Seine-facing facade near a construction zone, since removed — the thieves’ entry point and, observers said, a striking vulnerability for a palace-museum.

Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the vitrines, officials said. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift.

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