It’s not every day that one of the world’s most well-attended museums gets robbed, but that’s exactly what happened on Sunday, when thieves broke into the Louvre during broad daylight and ran off with an array of bejeweled objects worn by French royals of years past.
The heist has captured the world’s attention—which, perhaps, makes sense given that no other institution sees as many visitors annually as the Louvre. But the impact of the robbery has been most acutely felt in France, where it has become a symbol of wounded national pride.
Politicians have denounced the museum, and its director has faced calls to resign. In the process, a range of questions have arisen: How did the Louvre not detect the robbery? How did it happen in less than 10 minutes? How much are those jewels worth, anyway?
On Sunday, two thieves conducted their heist in a matter of minutes, leaving with nine objects that French authorities have described as highly valuable. The robbers used a device known as a monte-meubles, or a kind of moving staircase that is frequently used in Paris to undertake construction and renovation efforts. At the top, they used what officials labeled “small chainsaws” to break through a window and enter the Galerie d’Apollon, where a wide array of jewels formerly held by French royalty are regularly on view.
The theft was a bold one, given that it took place in broad daylight and while other visitors were in the museum. The robbers smashed cases, setting off alarms as they did so, and ran off with their spoils. According to French investigators, as they absconded, the thieves accidentally dropped one of their stolen items: a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie. That crown has since been recovered, but the fate of the remaining eight objects remains in doubt.
Laurent Nuñez, the French interior minister, quickly labeled the stolen objects “invaluable,” saying that they were “of immeasurable heritage value.” But since the day of the heist, French authorities have negated his statement, saying that the jewels may actually be worth $102 million—an amount that would make them far less expensive than other artworks housed at the Louvre, including the Mona Lisa. Still, that sum could make this heist the most costly one in the museum’s history, and anyway, per French officials, their monetary value can’t account for their importance to the country’s people. Another complicating factor is that the stolen items weren’t privately insured, according to the government.
Investigators have released a list of the remaining stolen items that have not yet been found. These include an emerald necklace belonging to Empress Marie-Louise that includes 1,138 diamonds; two brooches belonging to Empress Eugénie, which contain more than 2,500 diamonds combined; and a tiara worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense that has 1,083 diamonds and 24 sapphires.
Whether the Louvre’s security systems worked as they should remains an open question. A leaked audit from the French government suggests that the museum was severely lacking in this department. According to that audit, these systems were “outdated and inadequate.” One-third of the CCTV cameras in the Gallerie d’Apollon did not work, the report claimed, and the museum had failed to modernize outmoded technology. One cause was overtourism, according to the report. “Under the effect of increasing visitor numbers, the museum’s technical equipment became obsolete much more rapidly,” the report said.
While Sunday’s robbery may be the most high-profile heist at the Louvre in quite a few years, it isn’t the first time the museum has been heisted. Vincenzo Peruggia famously pilfered the Mona Lisa in 1911. (That Leonardo painting was recovered two years later and remains one of the Louvre’s main attractions, though the work has weathered its fair share of vandalism in the decades since.) Meanwhile, in 1983, several objects from the arms and armor galleries vanished without explanation; the objects weren’t recovered until 2021. There was also the time, in 1990, when a Renoir painting was cut from its frame and taken away.
