Daring Louvre Heist: Thieves Use Truck Lift to Steal French Crown Jewels
A daring daylight heist at the Louvre Museum saw thieves use a truck lift to steal priceless French crown jewels, prompting presidential condemnation and a national security review.
What was stolen from Louvre museum?
NewsNation
Louvre remains closed one day after jewel heist
PBS NewsHour
Louvre remains closed one day after jewel heist
Associated Press
Thieves steal ‘priceless’ jewels from Louvre Museum in bold daytime heist
New York Daily News
Thieves steal crown jewels in 4 minutes from Louvre Museum
Chicago Tribune
Thieves steal jewels in seven-minute heist at Louvre
Washington Examiner
Overview
- Thieves executed a daring daylight heist at the Louvre Museum's Galerie d'Apollon, using a truck lift to break in through a second-floor window and target French crown jewels.
- The theft occurred on a Sunday morning, approximately 30 minutes after the museum opened, with thieves smashing display cases and stealing eight priceless Napoleonic jewels.
- Four suspects are being sought in a manhunt after they fled the scene on motorbikes and scooters, specifically Yamaha 'TMax' models, following the coordinated operation.
- Among the stolen items, Empress Eugénie's broken crown was recovered damaged outside the Louvre, having been dropped by the fleeing thieves during their escape.
- President Emmanuel Macron condemned the theft as an attack on France's heritage, while Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez ordered a national reassessment of museum security.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the Louvre heist as a daring and spectacular assault on priceless French heritage. They consistently employ dramatic language and emphasize the immense value and historical significance of the stolen jewels. This collective editorial choice highlights the audacity of the thieves and the cultural impact of the loss, rather than focusing primarily on security lapses or broader systemic issues.
"The Louvre remained closed on Tuesday amid the ongoing investigation and the museum is refunding tickets that have already been purchased by visitors."
ABC News"The heist has fueled questions about the security of major cultural sites, after a spate of similar robberies."
NBC News"The thieves took at least eight pieces of France’s crown jewels, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense."
NewsNation"The heist deals a huge blow to one of the most popular museums in the world, which houses valuable works like Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and has drawn some 9 million visitors in recent years."
NPR"A group of thieves stole eight pieces of jewelry from Paris' iconic Louvre Museum on Oct. 19."
USA TODAY"The daring daylight heist at Paris' Louvre Museum was over in minutes, but it's feared the priceless Napoleonic jewelry taken by a masked gang in Sunday's brazen raid could be lost forever."
NBC News"The Louvre, the world's most iconic museum, remained closed Monday after thieves stole priceless treasures from the Apollon Gallery, the home of the French crown jewels."
CBS News"The Louvre remained closed Monday, a day after historic jewels were stolen from the world’s most-visited museum in a daring daylight heist that prompted authorities to reassess security measures at cultural sites across France."
Associated Press"The incident is being seen in some quarters as a national humiliation."
NBC News"The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history."
ABC News"The robbery hit The Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon, a vaulted hall that displays some of the French Crown Jewels underneath a ceiling painted by King Louis XIV's court artist, the ministry said."
CBS News"Security measures "failed" in preventing a major jewellery heist in the Louvre museum in Paris on Sunday, creating a very negative image of the country, the French justice minister has said."
BBC News"A group of thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday, making off with what French officials described as “priceless” jewelry."
Semafor"The world-renowned Louvre museum in Paris was shut on Sunday after several pieces of invaluable jewelry were stolen in a brazen robbery."
Fortune"Thieves reportedly stole nine pieces from the jewelry collection of Napoleon and the Empress in the Louvre, using a basket lift to reach the museum on Sunday morning."
ABC News"The daring heist at the world’s most visited museum occurred as tourists were inside the Galerie d’Apollon, where part of the French Crown Jewels are displayed."
Associated Press"The choice of target compounded the shock."
Chicago Tribune"Thieves broke into Paris' Louvre museum through a window on Oct. 19, stealing "priceless" items of jewelry before escaping on motorbikes, the French government said."
USA TODAY"The thieves stole priceless jewels from the world-famous Louvre in Paris in a daring heist early Sunday that forced the museum to close for the day, officials said."
NBC NewsArticles (38)
FAQ
The thieves used a truck lift to break in through a second-floor window of the Louvre Museum's Galerie d'Apollon.
The stolen items included a tiara, necklace, and earring from Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily and Hortense de Beauharnais set, an emerald necklace and earrings from Empress Marie Louise's set, and items belonging to Empress Eugénie. The Crown of Empress Eugénie was dropped during the escape and recovered damaged.
Four suspects are being sought, and they fled the scene on motorbikes and scooters, specifically Yamaha 'TMax' models.
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