Louvre Robbery: Two Arrested in €88 Million Jewel Heist

Mon Nov 10 2025 23:36:44 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Two suspects have been arrested regarding the audacious theft of priceless crown jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris, raising concerns about security protocols.

In a shocking heist last Sunday, thieves stole jewels valued at €88 million from the Louvre museum, the world's most-visited museum. Two suspects were arrested shortly after, with revelations that security measures failed during the incident, prompting criticism from French officials and experts on potential tracking issues for the stolen items. The Louvre is now enhancing security and moving its most valuable items to the Bank of France's secure vault.

Two suspects have been arrested over the theft of precious crown jewels from Paris's Louvre museum, French media say.

The Paris prosecutor's office stated that one of the men was taken into custody while preparing to take a flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Items worth €88 million ($102 million) were taken from the iconic museum last Sunday, when four thieves armed with power tools broke into the building during daylight hours.

In response to this brazen crime, France's justice minister admitted security protocols had failed, tarnishing the country's image.

The arrests occurred on Saturday evening, although the prosecutor's office didn’t specify how many individuals were detained. One of the suspects allegedly planned to flee to Algeria, while the other intended to go to Mali.

Specialist police can detain and question them for up to 96 hours. Reports have indicated that DNA evidence collected at the scene helped identify one of the suspects.

The gang left several items behind, including gloves and a high-visibility jacket, and it was reported they dropped a crown that once belonged to Empress Eugenie, spouse of Napoleon III.

The prosecutor's office condemned the premature disclosure of information related to the investigation, saying it hindered efforts to recover the stolen jewels and apprehend the thieves.

In the early hours of the incident, the thieves entered the museum just moments after it opened to visitors, arriving via a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to access the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo).

Images from the scene showed a ladder securing entrance to a first-floor window.

Two of the thieves stormed in using power tools to cut through the window, subsequently threatening the guards, who evacuated the premises while they smashed glass display cases to seize the jewels.

It was revealed that one in three rooms in the robbery vicinity lacked CCTV cameras, demonstrating potential oversight in security measures. French police noted that the criminals spent barely four minutes inside before fleeing on scooters at 09:38.

Further analysis from the Louvre's director shared that the only camera that monitored the exterior wall where the break-in occurred was pointing away from the breach site.

In light of the incident, security measures around cultural institutions in France have been heightened. The Louvre has shifted some of its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France, where they will be safeguarded in a highly secure vault located 26 meters below the ground floor.

Experts have voiced concerns over the possibility that the stolen jewels might have already been dismantled into smaller pieces to evade recovery efforts, with some suggesting that melting down gold and silver may be the criminals' next step.