VIDEO The first images of the robbery at the Louvre: A museum visitor filmed one of the thieves in action
French police expert analyzing the window through which the thieves who stole jewels from the Louvre entered. Photo: BSST / BACKGRID / Backgrid USA / Profimedia
The hunt has begun: after Sunday morning's spectacular robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, French police are on the trail of four criminals who fled with eight “crown jewels of France”, reports AFP.
French news channels broadcast footage, filmed with a mobile phone by a visitor, showing one of the thieves cutting through a shop window.
He is wearing a yellow vest, which was recovered by authorities after it was found by a “citizen”, according to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau.
The Louvre robbery was carried out by a group of four criminals, two of whom disguised themselves as workers and wore yellow vests, according to Le Parisien.
According to the newspaper, two of the nine stolen pieces of jewelry have already been recovered. pic.twitter.com/DxEMURt0O5
— lone wolf (@MApodogan) October 19, 2025
Shortly after the opening hours on Sunday, around 09:30 local time, a utility vehicle went up near a balcony of the famous museum.
🇫🇷 #France Louvre Robbery in 7 Minutes — Criminals Acted Like in “Ocean's Eleven”
Unknown perpetrators pulled off a daring robbery at the Louvre, entering the Apollo Gallery using a cherry picker through a building under construction. The entire heist took just 7 minutes.… pic.twitter.com/TCYAGN8sxu— Military Conflicts (@Alex_RobertsJ) October 19, 2025
The thieves cut two display windows with the angle grinder
After cutting a window with an angle grinder, two thieves broke into the gallery of Apollo, commissioned by Louis XIV to display his glory as the Sun King.
The hall houses the “royal collection of precious stones and diamonds of the Crown”, numbering about 800 pieces.
The thieves cut the windows and opened two shop windows with the angle grinder. They, who had their faces covered, stole nine pieces, all from the 19th century.
The crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III (emperor from 1852 to 1870), was abandoned by thieves while on the run. Its status is “under review”, according to the Ministry of Culture.
But eight pieces “of inestimable patrimonial value” were stolen, according to the authorities. These include Eugenie's tiara, which has nearly 2,000 diamonds, and the sapphire necklace of Marie-Amelie, the last queen of France, and Hortense de Beauharnais (mother of Napoleon III). It is composed of eight sapphires and 631 diamonds, according to the Louvre's website.
The operation lasted seven minutes. It was carried out by “experienced” thieves who could be “foreigners” and “possibly” known for similar acts, Laurent Nuñez said.
According to the Ministry of Culture, thanks to the intervention of the museum agents, “the criminals were put on the run, leaving behind the equipment”.
