{"id":316398,"date":"2025-10-19T16:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T16:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/316398\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T16:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T16:27:10","slug":"thieves-use-basket-lift-in-daring-louvre-robbery-steal-priceless-jewels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/316398\/","title":{"rendered":"Thieves use basket lift in daring Louvre robbery, steal priceless jewels"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AP) \u2014 In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world\u2019s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift to the Louvre<\/a>, forced a window into the Galerie d\u2019Apollon \u2014 while tourists pressed shoulder-to-shoulder in the corridors \u2014 smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said. <\/p>\n

It was among the highest-profile museum thefts in recent memory and comes as Louvre employees have complained of worker and security understaffing.<\/p>\n

One object was later found outside the museum, according to Culture Minister Rachida Dati. French daily Le Parisien reported it was the emerald-studded crown of Napoleon III\u2019s wife Empress Eug\u00e9nie \u2014 gold, diamonds and sculpted eagles \u2014 recovered just beyond the walls, broken.<\/p>\n

The theft unfolded just 250 meters (270 yards) from the Mona Lisa,<\/a> in what Dati described as \u201ca four-minute operation.\u201d No one was hurt.<\/p>\n

Images from the scene showed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine. <\/p>\n

Also visible was a lift braced to the Seine-facing facade near a construction zone \u2014 an extraordinary vulnerability at a palace-museum. <\/p>\n

A museum already under strain<\/p>\n

Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the vitrines, officials said. Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift. <\/p>\n

The choice of target compounded the shock. The vaulted Galerie d\u2019Apollon in the Denon wing, capped by a ceiling painted for Louis XIV, displays a selection of the French Crown Jewels. The thieves are believed to have approached via the riverfront facade, where construction is underway, used a freight elevator to reach the hall, took nine pieces from a 23-item collection linked to Napoleon and the Empress, and made off on motorbikes, according to Le Parisien.<\/p>\n

Daylight robberies during public hours are rare. Pulling one off inside the Louvre \u2014 with visitors present \u2014 ranks among Europe\u2019s most audacious since Dresden\u2019s Green Vault museum in 2019,<\/a> and the most serious in France in more than a decade. <\/p>\n

It also collides with a deeper tension the Louvre has struggled to resolve: swelling crowds and stretched staff. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing<\/a>. Unions say mass tourism leaves too few eyes on too many rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones, freight routes and visitor flows meet.<\/p>\n

Security around marquee works remains tight \u2014 the Mona Lisa is behind bulletproof glass in a bespoke, climate-controlled case. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether staffing levels played any role in Sunday\u2019s breach.<\/p>\n

The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered two years later in Florence. <\/p>\n

Today the former royal palace holds a roll call of civilization: Leonardo\u2019s Mona Lisa; the armless serenity of the Venus de Milo; the Winged Victory of Samothrace, wind-lashed on the Daru staircase; the Code of Hammurabi\u2019s carved laws; Delacroix\u2019s Liberty Leading the People; G\u00e9ricault\u2019s The Raft of the Medusa. More than 33,000 works \u2014 from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to Europe\u2019s masters \u2014 draw a daily tide of up to 30,000 visitors even as investigators now begin to sweep those gilded corridors for clues.<\/p>\n

Politics at the door<\/p>\n

The heist spilled instantly into politics. Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used it to attack President Emmanuel Macron, weakened at home and facing a fractured parliament. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Louvre is a global symbol of our culture,\u201d Bardella wrote on X. \u201cThis robbery, which allowed thieves to steal jewels from the French Crown, is an unbearable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the state go?\u201d <\/p>\n

The criticism lands as Macron touts a decade-long \u201cLouvre New Renaissance\u201d plan \u2014 about \u20ac700 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031. For workers on the floor, the relief has felt slower than the pressure.<\/p>\n

What we know \u2014 and don\u2019t<\/p>\n

Forensic teams are examining the site of the crime and adjoining access points while a full inventory is taken, authorities said. Officials have described the haul as of \u201cinestimable\u201d historical value. <\/p>\n

Recovery may prove difficult. \u201cIt\u2019s unlikely these jewels will ever be seen again,\u201d said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds. \u201cProfessional crews often break down and re-cut large, recognizable stones to evade detection, effectively erasing their provenance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday as police sealed gates, cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the Seine. <\/p>\n

Key questions still unanswered are how many people took part in the theft and whether they had inside assistance, authorities said. According to French media, there were four perpetrators: two dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests on the lift, and two each on a scooter.<\/p>\n

Investigators are reviewing CCTV from the Denon wing and the riverfront, inspecting the basket lift used to reach the gallery and interviewing staff who were on site when the museum opened, authorities said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS (AP) \u2014 In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world\u2019s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":316399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2122,4219,8703,159026,171,440,156,57,51,103195,159025,1165,159027,159024,159023,50,57335,8156,159028,52,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-316398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-arts-and-entertainment","9":"tag-crime","10":"tag-emmanuel-macron","11":"tag-empress-eugnie","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-europe","14":"tag-france","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-headlines","17":"tag-jordan-bardella","18":"tag-laurent-nuez","19":"tag-lifestyle","20":"tag-louis-xiv-of-france","21":"tag-louvre-museum","22":"tag-mona-lisa","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-rachida-dati","25":"tag-theft","26":"tag-tobias-kormind","27":"tag-top-stories","28":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115401775373674275","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}