The 7-minute heist: Thieves break into France's Louvre Museum, steal 'priceless' Napoleon's jewels and scoot away - what we know so far

The world's most famous Louvre Museum in France was expecting around 30,000 visitors (estimated), unaware of the fact that seven minutes of Sunday morning were enough to lodge another incident of robbery in its notorious history. It was nothing less than a filmy scene when an unknown number of thieves on scooters carrying chainsaws broke into the prominent Apollo Gallery and walked away with the jewellery collection of "Napoleon and the Empress."
The brazen daylight heist took place on Sunday morning when thieves made away with priceless jewels, France's interior minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed, calling it a "major robbery."

Major heist in seven minutes

Nuñez on France Inter said that the thieves "entered from the outside using a basket lift," and stole jewels of "inestimable value" in a "seven-minute" heist. Following the incident, the museum was closed for the day and an investigation was launched.

Meanwhile, culture minister Rachida Dati said that the heist was carrid out in four minutes.

According to Le Parisien, four perpetrators carried out the theft. Among the four, two dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests on the lift, and two each on a scooter.

Nunez added that the stolen jewels were "priceless"

"A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum," France's culture minister Rachida Dati said. "No injuries reported. I'm on site with museum staff and police," she added.

How the heist unfolded

In the seven-minute operation, the thieves entered the gallery using a basket lift, cut through panes with a dic cutter and stole jewellery of "inestimable value." Nuñez added that three or four thieves "manifestly" carried out scouting beforehand.



Several videos from the site went viral on social media that showed chaotic crowds of tourists in panic as police closed the museum's gates and surrounding roads.

What was stolen?

According to French daily Le Parisien, the criminals gained access through the Seine-facing facade, where construction work is under way. They used a freight elevator to reach the targeted room in the Apollo Gallery, broke the windows and made off with nine pieces from the "jewellery collection of Napoleon and Empress."

One piece found damaged

According to the paper, one of the stolen jewels, believed to be Empress Eugénie, was found later outside the museum. But it was damaged.

History of thefts

The museum has a long history of theft and attempted robbery, including one that took place in 1911 when Mona Lisa disappeared from its frame. Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker, stole the painting as he hid inside the museum and walked out with it under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence.