Heist at the Louvre: Two Arrested After €88 Million Jewelry Theft

Thu Oct 30 2025 08:28:12 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

French authorities apprehended two suspects connected to the daring theft of precious jewels valued at €88 million from the Louvre museum, prompting an urgent review of security protocols.

In a bold daylight robbery at the Louvre museum, jewels worth €88 million were stolen by a group of thieves. Two suspects have been arrested, with insights revealing serious flaws in the museum's security measures. The jewels, including a crown that belonged to Empress Eugenie, were stolen within minutes as concerns rise over the possibility of their immediate disassembly for sale. The Louvre has since relocated its most valuable pieces to secure vaults.

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

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

Items worth €88 million (£76 million; $102 million) were taken from the world's most-visited museum last Sunday when four thieves armed with power tools broke into the building in broad daylight.

France's justice minister conceded that security protocols failed, leaving the country with a terrible image.

The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the arrests occurred on Saturday evening, although details on the number of detainees were not revealed.

One suspect was set to travel to Algeria, police sources have reported, while the other intended to go to Mali. Specialist police are allowed to detain and question suspects for up to 96 hours.

DNA evidence collected at the crime scene led to the identification of one of the suspects. The gang allegedly left behind items such as gloves and a high-visibility jacket; they had reportedly dropped a crown once owned by Empress Eugenie, the spouse of Napoleon III.

The prosecutor criticized the premature disclosure of details regarding the case, asserting that it complicated efforts to recover the jewels and capture the thieves.

The gang reportedly entered shortly after the museum opened at 09:30 (08:30 GMT), utilizing a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift to access the Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) through a balcony near the River Seine.

Images from the scene featured a ladder leading up to a first-floor window.

Two thieves gained access by cutting through the window with power tools, threatened guards, and evacuated the area within minutes after cutting through glass display cases housing the jewels.

A preliminary report indicated that one in three rooms in the area raided lacked CCTV coverage, raising urgent security concerns, especially considering that the thieves were inside the museum for only four minutes and had escaped on scooters before law enforcement arrived.

The Louvre's director disclosed that the only camera monitoring the area where they broke in was misaligned, contributing to security failures that enabled the robbery.

Experts fear that the stolen jewels may have already been dismantled into smaller, untraceable pieces.

Following the heist, the Louvre has taken measures to enhance security, moving some of its most valuable items to the Bank of France, where they are stored in a secure vault 26 meters (85 ft) below ground level.