On October 19th at 9:30 am, while tourists lined up for selfies with the Mona Lisa, four suspects pulled off an art theft straight out of Red Notice. Their target? The Louvre Museum in Paris.Â
Armed with just a ladder and power tools (doing it old school), this group of four scaled a first-floor window that was conveniently without camera surveillance. Two of the suspects cut through the window glass with power tools, threatened nearby guards, then went straight for display cases filled with priceless jewels once worn by European royalty.Â
In just seven minutes, they sped off on scooters with a tiara and brooch belonging to Empress EugĂ©nie, an emerald necklace and earrings from Empress Marie Louise, a sapphire tiara, necklace, and a single earring from Queen Marie AmĂ©lie and Queen Hortense, and a brooch named the Reliquary Brooch.Â
This pre-Halloween haul was worth an estimated $102 million. Authorities believe the stolen pieces will be broken apart and sold in fragments — a heartbreaking fate for these pieces, which once symbolized total power and luxury. The only consolation: they dropped Empress EugĂ©nie’s crown on the way out, though it was found damaged.Â
About a week later, two suspects had already been apprehended. DNA found at the scene led investigators to two men from the Parisian suburb of Aubervilliers. One was arrested at Charles De Gaulle Airport during a passport check while trying to board a flight to Algeria.Â
While no one was injured, the heist left major questions about the security inside the Louvre. Cameras weren’t monitoring the second-floor balcony, and none of the existing systems were damaged: the thieves didn’t even have to disable them.Â
Online, there was an instant reaction. TikTok and Twitter users made this story a viral moment, comparing the thieves to characters from Ocean’s 8 and Lupin, joking that the heist was too cinematic to be real. But behind the jokes, the Louvre heist was both a bold crime and a wake-up call. Even one of the most famous museums isn’t untouchable.
Works Cited
Knight, Camille, and Billy Stockwell. “Suspects Arrested over Brazen Jewel Theft from Paris’ Louvre Museum.” CNN, 26 Oct. 2025, www.cnn.com/2025/10/26/europe/louvre-robbery-france-arrests-intl.
Vaux-montagny, Nicolas, and Sam Metz. “Unraveling the Louvre Heist: Investigators Hunt for Stolen Gems and Justice.” AP News, 27 Oct. 2025, apnews.com/article/louvre-museum-heist-paris-france-jewelry-investigation-49908bce644d7a7dfd9487e54f6b0150.