OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
1:15 PM – Sunday, October 26, 2025
Two suspects have been taken into custody following a daylight theft of crown jewels valued at €88 million (over $102 million) from the famous Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
The theft occurred last Sunday at the Louvre, the most visited museum, where four thieves used power tools and a mechanical lift to break into the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) shortly after the museum opened. They threatened the guards, who evacuated, and shattered two glass display cases holding precious jewels. The thieves were only inside for about four minutes before escaping on scooters.
The museum director told French senators that the only camera monitoring the wall of the Louvre where they broke in was pointing away from the balcony that led to the Gallery of Apollo.
France’s justice minister said that security protocols “failed,” contributing to a “terrible image” for the country.
The French media announced the arrests of two suspects, which the Paris prosecutor’s office said took place on Saturday evening.
Police sources said that one of the suspects was at the airport on his way to Algeria, while the other was headed to Mali.
Both men, in their thirties and from Seine-Saint-Denis, face charges of organized gang robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime. Police suggested they were professionals who acted on commission.
More than 150 samples taken from DNA evidence left at the scene, such as gloves and a high-visibility jacket, led to the identification of the two alleged thieves.
The items stolen included a tiara, a 94-diamond brooch and a large jewel-encrusted bow that belonged to Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie. Also taken was a set of a crown, necklace and pair of earrings made of sapphires set in white gold, which were worn by Queen Marie-Amelie. Napoleon’s second wife, Marie Louise, also had an emerald necklace with matching earrings that were reportedly stolen.
Empress Eugenie’s emerald and diamond crown was found damaged outside the museum. Laurence des Cars, the president and director of the Louvre, said it had been “crushed.”
“It appears that repairing it will be delicate but possible,” des Cars said.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez praised “the investigators who have worked tirelessly, just as I asked them to, and who have always had my full confidence.”
The Louvre reopened earlier this week, with tourists drawn to the now-famous balcony where the heist took place.
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