Louvre Heist Video: CCTV Captures Thieves’ ‘Slow-Motion’ Escape With Rs 8,97,42,40,000 Crown Jewels | World News
New video footage has emerged showing the daring, slow-motion escape of two robbers who made off with an estimated €88m (£76m) worth of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre Museum. This dramatic 36-second video is the final twist to the country’s most sensational robbery in recent years.
The theft incident, which occurred just after the opening of the museum on Sunday morning, revealed that the security in the world’s most popular museum was “extremely inadequate”. More than 100 investigators are currently working on the case.
Louvre thieves caught on camera slowly escaping with crown jewels pic.twitter.com/4PTS8uOXBx— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) October 23, 2025
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Escape: Furniture Lift and Scooters
The newly authenticated video, said to have been taken from a nearby museum window, shows the moment the thieves escaped from the Apollo gallery where the jewels were hidden.
Landing: Two men, both dressed in black, slowly descend into a makeshift furniture elevator. One was wearing a yellow high-vis vest and the other was wearing a motorcycle helmet.
Escape Vehicle: The elevator took the men down to Quai François Mitterrand, where the thieves had placed a stolen truck with a 30-metre (90 ft) extendable ladder and basket lift, which had previously been used to enter the first-floor gallery.
Security Recognized the Search: A voice, reportedly belonging to a security guard, is heard over what appears to be a walkie-talkie: “People are on scooters. They’ll go, they’ll go.” A few seconds later, the men can be heard speeding away on two scooters.
Inside the Seven Minute Heist
The robbery involved a gang of four men, two of whom entered the museum property.
Forced Entry: Robbers entered the Apollo gallery around 9.30am on Sunday. They entered through an apparently unsecured window, broke it and then used disc cutters to smash two display cases containing the crown jewels.
Targeted Gems: Among the spoils were eight items of great value, including an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon had gifted to his second wife, Marie Louise, and a tiara that belonged to Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie.
Speed of Crime: French media reported that the entire operation took less than seven minutes. The two men who entered the gallery spent only 3 minutes and 58 seconds inside.
Louvre Director Admits ‘Terrible Failure’
Security flaws that enable theft have been the subject of harsh criticism. Questioned by senators on Wednesday, Louvre Director Laurence des Cars admitted there had been a “terrible failure” in the museum’s defense.
Des Cars openly acknowledged that security camera surveillance on the exterior walls of the massive building was “quite inadequate”; This explained how thieves were able to accomplish complex exterior entry and exit without being caught off guard. The investigation continues with the aim of seizing the jewels and bringing the perpetrators to justice.
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