Thieves Raid France’s Imperial Treasures

The Louvre Museum in Paris — home to some of the world’s most prized art and artefacts — remains closed as police investigate a daring daylight robbery that has left France stunned and embarrassed. In a scene straight out of a heist film, a crew of thieves armed with power tools broke into the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon on Sunday morning and made off with eight priceless pieces of royal jewellery, including items once owned by Empress Eugénie and Empress Marie Louise.

THE HEIST

The group of four suspects arrived around 9:30 a.m. local time, just as the museum opened. Using a mechanical liftattached to a vehicle, they gained access to a first-floor balcony overlooking the River Seine, cutting through a window with power tools to enter the gilded Gallery of Apollo — the very hall that houses France’s crown jewels.

Inside, the thieves threatened security guards, forcing an evacuation before smashing two glass display cases and grabbing the jewels. Reports say parts of the gallery’s CCTV system were not functioning, leaving blind spots during the four-minute operation. The gang fled on two scooters, speeding away at 9:38 a.m.

French police later discovered that the thieves had tried to burn their vehicle outside the museum, but were stopped by quick-thinking staff. Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed the robbers appeared “calm and experienced,” and the museum’s wider alarm system did go off — but not in time to stop them.

WHAT WAS STOLEN

Officials say eight pieces were taken, all from the 19th century and tied to France’s imperial history. The missing treasures include:

• A tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III

• An emerald necklace and earrings once owned by Empress Marie Louise

• A sapphire tiara, necklace, and single earring from the collection of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense

• A reliquary brooch of significant historical value

Each item was encrusted with diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires — considered “priceless and of immeasurable heritage value,” according to France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. Two of the items, including Eugénie’s crown, were later found damaged near the museum, apparently dropped during the escape.

Art recovery expert Chris Marinello warned that the jewels are likely to be dismantled and melted down. “They’re not going to keep them intact — the stones will be recut, the metal melted, and the evidence destroyed,” he said.

While the specific Louvre jewels stolen in the 2025 heist were crafted in France, many of their diamonds, emeralds, and pearls were indeed products of empire — mined, traded, or taken through colonial systems in India, Brazil, and Ceylon.

Origins of the Crown Jewels Involved

1. Tiara and Brooch of Empress Eugénie

• These pieces were commissioned in the mid-19th century for Empress Eugénie (wife of Napoleon III) by French jewellers such as Bapst & Falize and Mellerio dits Meller, using European diamonds and pearls sourced largely from India, Brazil, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

• They were not looted, but custom-made for the Empress as symbols of imperial status.

• After the fall of the Second Empire (1870), many of her jewels were confiscated by the state and later sold at auction or placed in national collections, eventually ending up in the Louvre’s national treasury section.

2. Emerald Necklace and Earrings of Empress Marie Louise

• Originally gifts from Napoleon Bonaparte to his second wife, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, around 1810.

• The emeralds were set by Marie-Étienne Nitot, Napoleon’s court jeweller.

• The materials themselves (emeralds, diamonds, gold) were imported through trade and conquest during Napoleon’s empire, not through colonial plunder from Africa.

• These jewels later passed to the French state after multiple inheritance transfers and were formally catalogued as part of France’s “Crown Jewels of the Second Empire.”

3. Sapphire Tiara, Necklace, and Single Earring of Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense

• Belonged to members of the House of Orléans and Bonaparte family, crafted by Parisian jewellers in the early to mid-1800s.

• Again, the gemstones came through global trade, often from South Asia or South America, reflecting France’s colonial trade routes but not direct African confiscation.

• These jewels were nationalized in the late 19th century after royal exiles and regime changes, becoming part of the national heritage collection displayed at the Louvre.

4. The Reliquary Brooch and the Damaged Crown

• Both were 19th-century French-made pieces, combining religious motifs and imperial symbols.

• They were crafted by French ateliers under state commission to celebrate dynastic power — not seized from foreign territories.

The theft has sparked outrage across France, with politicians calling it a national humiliation. President Emmanuel Macron described the heist as “an attack on our history,” while National Rally leader Jordan Bardella called it “an intolerable humiliation.” Senator Natalie Goulet labeled it “a painful episode for France,” criticizing the museum for allowing such a breach in one of the world’s most secure cultural landmarks.

The Louvre’s Gallery of Apollo, which also houses the French Crown Jewels, has long been a symbol of national pride — making this theft both a cultural and political scandal.

A HISTORY OF ART HEISTS

This isn’t the Louvre’s first brush with theft. In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen by a museum employee and hidden for two years before being recovered. More recently, French museums have been frequent targets — including a €9.5 million porcelain robbery in Limoges last month, and a shootout at the Hieron Museum in Burgundy last November.

As of Monday, 60 investigators are working on the Louvre case, studying footage from nearby cameras and escape routes. Authorities believe the robbery was commissioned by an organized crime group, with the jewels already being trafficked through Europe’s black market.

THE AFTERMATH

The Louvre remains closed, with full refunds issued for all pre-booked tickets. Metal barriers now block the famous glass pyramid entrance, while police patrols surround the site. No timeline has been given for reopening, though officials say the museum could return to limited operation by Wednesday.

The French government had already planned a €700–800 million security and renovation overhaul of the Louvre under Macron’s New Renaissance project — but after this fiasco, that upgrade can’t come soon enough.