Ten days after the spectacular burglary in the Louvre's Apollon gallery, two suspects have partially admitted the facts during their indictment for organized gang theft. The eight stolen jewels, valued at an estimated 88 million euros, remain untraceable despite an investigation involving a hundred investigators. Meanwhile, Paris's police prefect highlights infractions in the museum's surveillance cameras.
On October 19, 2025, around 9:30 a.m., four individuals carried out a daring burglary at the Louvre. Dressed in yellow vests and posing as workers, two of them used an elevator truck on the Quai François-Mitterrand to access the Apollon gallery. They smashed a window and display cases with grinders, stealing eight jewels in seven minutes before fleeing on two T-Max scooters driven by accomplices. Among the stolen items is the sapphire parure necklace of Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. A ninth piece, the Empress Eugénie's crown set with 1354 diamonds, 113 rose cuts, and 56 emeralds, was dropped and damaged during the escape; it will require restoration.
The suspects had met at a rendezvous point to switch vehicles before and after the theft, heading east of Paris. The investigation, led by the Brigade de répression du banditisme (BRB) and the Office central de lutte contre le trafic de biens culturels (OCBC), used surveillance footage to trace their path. Over 150 DNA samples and 189 seals were collected.
On October 25, two men from Seine-Saint-Denis, residing in Aubervilliers, were arrested. The first, 34 years old and Algerian, worked as a deliveryman with a record of thefts and traffic offenses. The second, 39, was an illegal taxi driver then deliveryman, known for aggravated thefts and under judicial supervision. Traced by their DNA on a scooter and the display cases, they were indicted on October 29 for 'organized gang theft and criminal gang association.' Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau stated: 'I want to keep the hope that they will be found and returned to the Louvre museum and the Nation. These jewels are of course unsellable today.' A hundred investigators continue the search, not ruling out a larger group, but with no evidence of internal museum complicity.
Meanwhile, during a Senate roundtable on October 29 organized by the culture commission chaired by Laurent Lafon, Paris police prefect Patrice Faure deemed the Louvre in 'infraction' with its surveillance cameras, which are technically outdated and used outside the legal framework. The museum's management and the prefecture blame each other for neglecting the palace's surroundings, a situation emblematic of deficiencies in the 1220 public museums. Faure opposed installing a police station within the museum, as had Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.