Louvre in Paris is closed after ‘chainsaw-wielding’ robbers steal jewellery from museum’s Napoleon collection
The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris has closed after a gang of ‘chainsaw-wielding’ robbers stole jewels worth millions.
The gang shut down on Sunday, stealing items that once belonged to Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte.
French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati said: ‘I am here with the museum staff and the police.’
He said a criminal investigation had been launched and detectives were liaising with museum staff.
According to Ms Dati, no one was injured during the raids, while a Louvre spokesman confirmed that the museum was closed for ‘exceptional reasons’.
The raid is believed to have taken place in broad daylight, just after 9am, according to a source leading the investigation.
The gang allegedly stole nine items from the jewelery collection of Napoleon and the Empress.
‘The scooters were seen arriving with those riding them heavily disguised,’ the source said. ‘They were fitted with a chainsaw and made off with nine items from the Napoleon collection.’
The world-famous Louvre museum in Paris closed after a gang stole jewels worth millions (image: French police officers next to a staircase backed by the tourist area)
Tourists were photographed being evacuated from the Louvre Museum on Sunday after reports of a major theft
The source said ‘three suspects’ were thought to be involved and that they appeared to be ‘highly organized criminals’.
Meanwhile, police sources told Le Parisien that ‘criminals gained access to the building on the banks of the Seine River’, where construction work continues.
‘They used a freight elevator that went directly to the targeted room,’ they said.
‘After breaking the windows, two men broke in and stole nine items from Napoleon and the Empress’ jewelery collection: a necklace, a brooch and more.’
After being crowned Emperor and Empress of France in 1804, Napoleon and Josephine amassed one of the most impressive jewelry collections ever.
While many of the pieces were stolen from the royal family during the French Revolution, others were collected from across the Empire.
Those who steal historical works of art often work at the behest of dealers who are unable to sell them on the black market.
Instead, the source said, the jewels would be kept secret and made available to the master criminal who carried out the raid.
Panicked visitors try to exit iconic museum after robbery
Police surrounded the tourist attraction on Sunday after it was reported that jewels previously belonging to Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte were stolen from the museum
Thefts of high-end art occur regularly in Paris, including the Louvre.
The most notorious of these was the 1911 shooting of Leonardo Da Vinci’s 16th-century masterpiece Mona Lisa, which caused international outrage.
Vincenzo Peruggia, an employee of the world’s most visited art museum, hid the painting in a closet overnight to retrieve it.
It was seized two years later when he tried to sell it to an antiques dealer in Florence, Italy.
The latest raid comes despite authorities regularly promising to increase security at several galleries in the city.
Axe-wielding thieves targeted an exhibition of miniature objects at the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris on November 20, 2024.
His haul included seven very valuable snuff boxes, two of which were lent by the British Crown.
The daylight raid led to an insurance payout of more than £3 million to the Royal Collection Trust.
In 2017, three art thieves were jailed for up to eight years for stealing five masterpieces worth nearly £100 million from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris.
A theft in May 2010 resulted in the disappearance of works by Picasso and Matisse.
