First, got here the Louvre heist. Then got here the memes : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7387x4925+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2Fbf%2F66495f444018bed5896d8a0ae6a3%2Fap25298550070250.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7387x4925+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff4%2Fbf%2F66495f444018bed5896d8a0ae6a3%2Fap25298550070250.jpg" class="img" alt="Members of the Paris Holmes Society (Cercle Holmesien de Paris), Laurence Deloision, dressed like Arsène Lupin (left), and Thierry Gilibert, dressed like Sherlock Holmes, on Saturday stage the theft by the facade and the window where thieves entered the Louvre last Sunday. " fetchpriority="high"/> Members of the Paris Holmes Society (Cercle Holmesien de Paris), Laurence Deloision, dressed like Arsène Lupin (left), and Thierry Gilibert, dressed like Sherlock Holmes, on Saturday stage the theft by the facade and the window the place thieves entered the Louvre final Sunday. Thomas Padilla/AP disguise caption

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Thomas Padilla/AP PARIS — It was the heist heard all over the world. So naturally, it was solely a matter of hours earlier than it transitioned into memes seen across the web.

4 masked thieves. 9 "priceless" items. All stolen in lower than seven minutes, from the world's most well-known museum. The Oct. 19 daylight theft on the Louvre has already been in comparison with a Dan Brown novel or the newest installment in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's movie franchise.

Now it is one thing else solely — web tradition's latest obsession. From manufacturers to influencers to actors with initiatives to advertise (here is taking a look at you, George Clooney), the Louvre heist has turn out to be the newest template for going viral.

Authorities, in the meantime, are nonetheless in search of solutions. French police say the investigation continues, with about 100 individuals engaged on the case. Investigators say they've collected greater than 150 hint samples — together with DNA and fingerprints left on gear deserted on the scene — which are actually being analyzed by forensic specialists in Paris.

One twist got here earlier this week when Empress Eugénie's diamond-and-gold encrusted crown — one of many stolen gadgets — was discovered broken close to the scene, apparently dropped or deserted throughout the thieves' escape.

Eight different jewels — all relics of France's imperial historical past — stay lacking. The estimated worth of the gadgets is $102 million (88 million euros), although France's inside ministry described the jewels as "priceless." France's tradition minister known as the theft a "humiliation." The museum's director admitted that the heist "was not inevitable," acknowledging the failure of its safety.

The Louvre's safety programs are anticipated to face extra scrutiny within the coming weeks, significantly as questions develop in regards to the lack of safety cameras within the museum's Apollo Gallery, the place the theft happened.

Turning crime into content material The thieves entered the second-floor gallery by way of a window utilizing an electrical carry — which additionally they used to scurry again right down to floor stage earlier than leaping on scooters towards the closest freeway.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6536x4357+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc7%2F03%2F7604f6e7407c8e8fadd391d8965f%2Fap25292402332066.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6536x4357+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc7%2F03%2F7604f6e7407c8e8fadd391d8965f%2Fap25292402332066.jpg" class="img" alt="Police officers work by a basket lift used by thieves Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 at the Louvre museum in Paris." loading="lazy"/> Cops work by a basket carry utilized by thieves Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 on the Louvre museum in Paris. Thibault Camus/AP disguise caption

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Thibault Camus/AP On Friday, Böcker, the German equipment firm that made the carry entered the dialog, releasing a cheeky submit that includes an advert throughout its social media pages. The advert includes a photograph of its ladder propped in opposition to the Louvre's façade with the caption, "In case you're in a rush, Böcker Agilo carries as much as 400 kg of treasures at 42 m per minute — as quiet as a whisper."

It was half advert, half wink. All of the sudden, the family-run firm's longtime slogan "my technique to the highest" has gained new which means.

They weren't alone. IKEA Switzerland posted its personal tongue-in-cheek advert selling a glass-dome show case. The caption learn: "Will not defend your crown jewels both. However it would give them the precise highlight."

Others on TikTok and Instagram have turned the Louvre heist right into a Halloween costume: suppose black jumpsuits, leather-based gloves, smooth sun shades, and glittering imitation jewels.

"Heists are so again!" the style influencer @clothesfordinner declared

"How good to examine a heist somewhat than a bloodbath" A part of the fascination comes from the fantasy the story invitations.

"How thrilling, upon listening to the information, to place oneself within the footwear of the thieves, and picture making off with the diamonds scot-free," The Atlantic employees author Caity Weaver wrote in a latest piece chronicling the general public's obsession with the heist.

Or to place the obsession much more merely: "How good to examine a heist somewhat than a bloodbath."

The stolen trinkets, Weaver writes, "have garnered much more consideration now than they might have had they remained on view on the Louvre for five,000 years."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4801x3278+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbb%2F03%2F9a6266cd4c229a42e7053886420e%2Fap25297176355341.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4801x3278+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbb%2F03%2F9a6266cd4c229a42e7053886420e%2Fap25297176355341.jpg" class="img" alt="George Clooney arrives at the AFI Fest premiere of the film "Jay Kelly" on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles." loading="lazy"/> George Clooney arrives on the AFI Fest premiere of the movie "Jay Kelly" on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at TCL Chinese language Theatre in Los Angeles. Chris Pizzello/Invision by way of AP disguise caption

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Chris Pizzello/Invision by way of AP Maybe she's onto one thing. And maybe that is why Hollywood, for its half, could not resist the second, both.

George Clooney — who performs grasp thief Danny Ocean within the Ocean's franchise — joked at a movie premiere final week, "They appear to have executed a reasonably good job of getting away with it … I used to be very happy with these guys."

Requested whether or not the heist would possibly encourage the upcoming Ocean's 14 movie, Clooney quipped, "I feel we should always rob the Louvre."

After which there's the dapper man the web has determined is on the case.

After the theft, an Related Press photographer captured a younger wanting well-dressed passerby close to the Louvre's gates — coat, tie, and fedora — as police sealed off the museum.

On-line, he was immediately dubbed "a extra dashing model of the famed Inspector Clouseau" from the Pink Panther franchise, supposedly a suave detective investigating the theft.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4185x2790+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F96%2Fa9%2F0f43869346399018918db4b22240%2Fap25292421895116.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4185x2790+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F96%2Fa9%2F0f43869346399018918db4b22240%2Fap25292421895116.jpg" class="img" alt="Police officers block an access to the Louvre museum after a robbery Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Paris." loading="lazy"/> Cops block an entry to the Louvre museum after a theft Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Paris. Thibault Camus/AP disguise caption

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Thibault Camus/AP The AP photographer, Thibault Camus, later stated the person was merely strolling previous. "He appeared in entrance of me, I noticed him, I took the photograph," Camus says. "He handed by and left."

Nonetheless, the picture took off, racking up tens of millions of views and a flood of memes.

Even the Paris prosecutor's workplace appeared to play alongside. In an e-mail to AP asking if the thriller man was part of the official investigation, officers replied with a wink: "We would somewhat preserve the thriller alive ;)."