What is going to occur to France’s stolen crown jewels?

[ad_1] The theft in broad daylight on the Louvre on Sunday morning is likely one of the greatest, most brazen museum heists in latest reminiscence.

At 9:30am, an alleged "strike workforce" of 4 skilled burglars drove to the banks of the Seine and arrange a cherry-picker beneath the home windows of the Musée du Louvre: a feather in France’s cap and one of the vital famed and prestigious museums anyplace on the earth.

The cherry picker carried two thieves disguised as builders to the primary ground, the place they compelled open a window with an angle grinder and entered the gilded Galerie d’Apollon – a masterpiece of Baroque structure that holds a few of France's most prized jewels, a lot of which belonged to monarchs and leaders at completely different instances in historical past.

Learn extra Thieves steal eight objects from Louvre in daring daytime heist

The robbers went on to smash the show instances that held the jewels and take 9 items mentioned to be of "inestimable heritage and historic" worth. By 9.38am, they'd vanished on two highly effective scooters, abandoning a pair of gloves and a walkie-talkie.

The stolen items embody a pearl and diamond encrusted diadem, a sapphire tiara, necklaces adorned with gems and delicate brooches dripping with a whole lot of treasured diamonds.

However of their getaway, the thieves dropped the crown of Empress Eugénie, spouse of Napoleon III, who reigned from 1852 to 1870. The dazzling crown, adorned with gold eagles, studded with diamonds and emeralds, was discovered barely broken outdoors the Louvre shortly after the thieves had fled.

<img fetchpriority="low" src="https://s.france24.com/media/display/17ce7404-add9-11f0-b458-005056bf30b7/w:980/2025-10-19T131712Z-393226043-RC21FHAUS9W9-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg" srcset="https://s.france24.com/media/display/17ce7404-add9-11f0-b458-005056bf30b7/w:246/2025-10-19T131712Z-393226043-RC21FHAUS9W9-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg 246w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/17ce7404-add9-11f0-b458-005056bf30b7/w:388/2025-10-19T131712Z-393226043-RC21FHAUS9W9-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg 388w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/17ce7404-add9-11f0-b458-005056bf30b7/w:720/2025-10-19T131712Z-393226043-RC21FHAUS9W9-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg 720w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/17ce7404-add9-11f0-b458-005056bf30b7/w:980/2025-10-19T131712Z-393226043-RC21FHAUS9W9-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg 980w" sizes="(max-width: 1023px) calc(100vw - 32px), (min-width: 1024px) 850px" alt="Police officers work at a crane believed to have been used in a robbery at the Louvre museum in Paris, France, October 19, 2025." style="max-height:569px" loading="lazy" class="a-img "/> Law enforcement officials work at a crane believed to have been utilized in a theft on the Louvre museum in Paris, France, October 19, 2025. © Gonzalo Fuentes, Reuters The audacious theft took between 4 and 7 minutes: roughly the time the typical Parisian would take to brew a morning cup of espresso and have their first sip.

It was a scene straight out of a heist film and prompted a wave of alarm on the museum's clearly lax safety, which France’s new Inside Minister Laurent Nuñez acknowledged was a "main weak spot". French opposition leaders went as far as to name the theft an "insufferable humiliation" that solid the nation in ‘deplorable gentle’.

Whereas that will sound like hyperbole, it’s true that The Louvre is a big income for town and one of many nation’s greatest attraction for vacationers, who flock from around the globe to see the well-known work and objects it homes. The museum remained shuttered on Monday, with no clear date introduced but for its reopening.

Learn extra 'Police are racing towards the clock' to get better the jewels stolen from the Louvre

In whole, the Louvre generates annual revenues starting from €200 million to €250 million in a typical yr, combining all revenue streams. Its assortment was final valued at 35 billion – though most artwork specialists would agree that placing a exact worth on the culturally and traditionally objects inside its partitions is close to not possible. The stolen jewels symbolize hundreds of thousands of euros of that price.

The crown jewels could also be misplaced without end Christopher Marinello is a lawyer and an professional in recovering stolen, looted, and lacking artistic endeavors. In 2013, he based Artwork Restoration Worldwide, which in keeping with its web site has recovered misplaced paintings valued at greater than $500 million on behalf of various establishments together with museums, governments and cultural establishments.

He described the theft as a “well-planned smash and seize”, including that nobody would contact the stolen jewels as they had been. Sadly, Marinello’s prognosis for the jewels was grim.

“There's a small likelihood some consumers in sure nations would purchase the jewels as they're, however that’s unlikely," he mentioned.

“It’s not a stolen Picasso, which must be saved intact, or its nugatory," he added.

Marinello defined that conventional artwork – work, sculptures and the like, need to be preserved in as close to excellent high quality as potential to retain their worth. In these instances, criminals will promote the work – seemingly for a fraction of the value – to underground artwork sellers, or in some instances, commerce the artwork for weapons or different contraband.

<img fetchpriority="low" src="https://s.france24.com/media/display/82d4ba38-add9-11f0-b7ea-005056bf30b7/w:980/2025-10-20T103948Z-1743042380-RC2MFHAPZFDQ-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg" srcset="https://s.france24.com/media/display/82d4ba38-add9-11f0-b7ea-005056bf30b7/w:246/2025-10-20T103948Z-1743042380-RC2MFHAPZFDQ-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg 246w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/82d4ba38-add9-11f0-b7ea-005056bf30b7/w:388/2025-10-20T103948Z-1743042380-RC2MFHAPZFDQ-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg 388w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/82d4ba38-add9-11f0-b7ea-005056bf30b7/w:720/2025-10-20T103948Z-1743042380-RC2MFHAPZFDQ-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg 720w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/82d4ba38-add9-11f0-b7ea-005056bf30b7/w:980/2025-10-20T103948Z-1743042380-RC2MFHAPZFDQ-RTRMADP-3-FRANCE-CRIME-LOUVRE.jpg 980w" sizes="(max-width: 1023px) calc(100vw - 32px), (min-width: 1024px) 850px" alt="A jewel-encrusted brooch worn by French Empress Eugenie, which was among the items stolen by thieves during a heist at Paris's Louvre Museum on October 19, 2025." style="max-height:483px" loading="lazy" class="a-img "/> A jewel-encrusted brooch worn by French Empress Eugenie, which was among the many gadgets stolen by thieves throughout a heist at Paris's Louvre Museum on October 19, 2025. © by way of Louvre Museum, Reuters However jewels are completely different. Given the convenience and experience with which the robbers looted the Louvre, Marinello mentioned, they might have already got a system in place to interrupt down the jewels and promote the gold, diamonds and treasured stones in items to consumers.

“It isn’t exhausting to fly to Israel, Antwerp or India and easily have them recut,” he mentioned. “As soon as that’s finished, they’re immediately unrecognisable. Nobody would know the place they got here from, nobody would know that they had been the crown jewels.”

Marinello cited the story of the gold bathroom stolen from Blenheim Palace, one other movie-like heist which occurred within the UK, the place thieves ripped out a 4.8m euro stable gold bathroom from a hardwood ground and fled the scene in a stolen Volkswagen Golf.

“As they had been leaving the museum they had been breaking apart the stable gold bathroom in items. Bits had been even discovered within the automobile later,” he mentioned.

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<img fetchpriority="low" src="https://s.france24.com/media/display/4ecd0ad0-ad96-11f0-bc27-005056bfb2b6/w:1280/p:16x9/EN-20251020-103601-103731-CS.jpg" srcset="https://s.france24.com/media/display/4ecd0ad0-ad96-11f0-bc27-005056bfb2b6/w:388/p:16x9/EN-20251020-103601-103731-CS.jpg 388w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/4ecd0ad0-ad96-11f0-bc27-005056bfb2b6/w:720/p:16x9/EN-20251020-103601-103731-CS.jpg 720w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/4ecd0ad0-ad96-11f0-bc27-005056bfb2b6/w:1024/p:16x9/EN-20251020-103601-103731-CS.jpg 1024w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/4ecd0ad0-ad96-11f0-bc27-005056bfb2b6/w:1280/p:16x9/EN-20251020-103601-103731-CS.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 639px) calc(100vw - 32px), (max-width: 1076px) calc(100vw - 44px), 850px" width="1280" height="720" alt="" loading="lazy" class="a-img "/> © France 24 Three males had been finally arrested for the theft, however the gold had lengthy been melted down and offered in items.

An analogous occasion occurred in 2017, when a 100 kg gold coin often called "Massive Maple" was stolen from the Bode museum in Germany by a bunch of 4 males, utilizing a skateboard and a wheelbarrow. The lads had been caught later, however the priceless artefact was lengthy gone.

In just a few uncommon instances – just like the theft on the Dresden Inexperienced vault – some stolen jewels had been finally recovered. Nonetheless, it might be extra seemingly that they may undergo the identical destiny as Massive Maple and the Golden Bathroom.

<img fetchpriority="low" src="https://s.france24.com/media/display/d06bba1c-add9-11f0-86eb-005056a90284/w:980/2024-08-13T122341Z-33164908-RC2ZE9AAGV9K-RTRMADP-3-GERMANY-ROBBERY-GREEN-VAULT-2.jpg" srcset="https://s.france24.com/media/display/d06bba1c-add9-11f0-86eb-005056a90284/w:246/2024-08-13T122341Z-33164908-RC2ZE9AAGV9K-RTRMADP-3-GERMANY-ROBBERY-GREEN-VAULT-2.jpg 246w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/d06bba1c-add9-11f0-86eb-005056a90284/w:388/2024-08-13T122341Z-33164908-RC2ZE9AAGV9K-RTRMADP-3-GERMANY-ROBBERY-GREEN-VAULT-2.jpg 388w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/d06bba1c-add9-11f0-86eb-005056a90284/w:720/2024-08-13T122341Z-33164908-RC2ZE9AAGV9K-RTRMADP-3-GERMANY-ROBBERY-GREEN-VAULT-2.jpg 720w,https://s.france24.com/media/display/d06bba1c-add9-11f0-86eb-005056a90284/w:980/2024-08-13T122341Z-33164908-RC2ZE9AAGV9K-RTRMADP-3-GERMANY-ROBBERY-GREEN-VAULT-2.jpg 980w" sizes="(max-width: 1023px) calc(100vw - 32px), (min-width: 1024px) 850px" alt="The director of the Green Vault, talks to the media, as items recovered from a jewel heist in 2019 go back on display after their restoration, in Dresden, Germany on August 13, 2024." style="max-height:567px" loading="lazy" class="a-img "/> The director of the Inexperienced Vault, talks to the media, as gadgets recovered from a jewel heist in 2019 return on show after their restoration, in Dresden, Germany on August 13, 2024. © Nadja Wohlleben, Reuters Though breaking down France's crown jewels could be tougher than melting gold, Marinello believes the jewels may by no means be seen within the kind they had been earlier than they had been stolen. The jewels – when damaged down into items – will undeniably lose a few of their worth however provided that lots of the items have effectively over 1,000 diamonds every, the thieves would nonetheless make a good-looking revenue.

However Marinello has hope that the criminals might be caught.

“I’m pretty assured that the French police will catch the thieves,” he mentioned, including that that they’re seemingly already identified to authorities, provided that robbers at this scale work in identified and infrequently well-organised gangs.

A dire want for higher legal guidelines, and higher safety “Individuals who rob at this degree do it like a profession. That is their job. They get to maintain a giant chunk of cash, spend just a few years in jail exercising and coming proper again out and buying on the subsequent museum,” mentioned Marinello, who argues that the penalties for artwork theft aren’t almost strict sufficient.

“The primary crime is for theft. The second is for the destruction of artwork and cultural heritage – not simply towards one individual, however towards hundreds of thousands of individuals and future generations, who've misplaced the chance to review and admire the misplaced gadgets.”

Learn extra Louvre jewelry heist sparks safety debate in France

Marinello instructed that penalties and jail time must be elevated to discourage future heists at this scale, that nations should set up clear traces for normal theft – and theft which holds larger cultural consequence.

Paris can be one of many world’s luxurious capitals. If it’s simply concerning the worth of the uncooked supplies, one may argue that the robbers may have simply stolen from a high-end jewelry showroom as an alternative.

Marinello laughed off the concept: “I hate to say it, however Cartier is healthier protected than the Louvre.”

“I hope that this can be a wakeup name to museums around the globe to guard what they've. Nevertheless it shouldn’t have needed to occur ... for individuals to note."