CCTV shows moment Louvre heist thieves smash into display cases and snatch £76m of jewellery as they ransack the museum

CCTV footage shows the moment Louvre robbery thieves smashed display cases and looted £76 million worth of jewellery.

A one-minute security camera clip shared on French TV news program Sept à Huit captured two thieves breaking into glass cases and brazenly seizing their loot.

It was seen that one of the masked thieves used his arm to pierce the broken glass and then reached inside and took three valuable ornaments.

He then stuffs the items into the inside pocket of his hi-vis jacket, then grabs his bag from among the broken glass and hurries away.

Both thieves can then be seen working together to make their way to a second, larger safe, steal valuable pieces of jewelry and flee the scene.

The entire operation, which saw £76 million worth of jewelery stolen, lasted just four minutes, from 9.35am to 9.39am in the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery on 19 October.

Within a week, two men in their 30s from Seine-Saint-Denis were arrested in connection with the raid on 25 October; one of them was arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport while trying to board a flight to Algeria.

Both were already known to the police from past theft cases. Investigators said they matched DNA traces from a helmet left at the scene of the crime to one of the suspects.

Both thieves can then be seen working together to make their way to a second, larger safe, steal valuable pieces of jewelry and quickly flee the scene.

Four days later, the prosecutor’s office announced that the two arrested men partially admitted their involvement in the incident and that a criminal complaint was filed against them. organized gang theft and criminal conspiracy.

five more The suspects were arrested on October 29, although only one of them was thought to be part of the four-man team.

On 31 October, two people were charged before a magistrate: a 37-year-old man was charged with theft and criminal conspiracy, and a 38-year-old woman was charged with organized theft and criminal conspiracy to commit an offence.

Both denied any involvement and the three were released.

The prosecutor’s office reported that four more suspects coming from Paris were detained by the police on November 25.

A 39-year-old man was charged before a magistrate on November 27 with organized gang robbery and criminal conspiracy. The man is believed to be the last member of the four-man team.

The other three people detained on November 27 were released.

So far, criminal complaints have been filed against five suspects; however, the location of the jewels is unknown and no pieces have been found.

“The interrogations did not reveal any new investigative elements,” Paris chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau said this week, three months after the broad daylight robbery.

But he stressed the case was still a top priority: ‘Our main goal is still to recover the jewels.’

On the morning of October 19, thieves parked a transport truck with an extendable ladder under the Louvre Apollo Gallery, which houses the French crown jewels.

Investigators said two of the thieves climbed the stairs, broke a window and cut the display windows containing the treasures with a grinder, while the other two waited below.

Beccuau said the robbery was carried out by common criminals rather than organized crime professionals.

Shortly after the burglary, the director of the Louvre revealed that the only camera monitoring the Galerie d’Apollon was facing away from the balcony that the thieves had climbed to gain entry.

The four then escaped on high-powered motor scooters and hurriedly dropped a diamond and emerald crown.

But eight other jewels remain at large, including an emerald and diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave to his second wife, Empress Marie-Louise.

Beccuau said investigators are keeping an open mind about where the loot might be.

The crown in the picture is taken from the jewelry set that Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Horten had commissioned in Paris in the 19th century.

Empress Eugenie’s crown (pictured), created by Alexandre-Gabriel Lemonnier in 1853, was stolen

The thieves also escaped with the emerald necklace seen in the picture from the Marie-Louise set made by master jeweler François-Régnault Nitot in 1810.

The gang stole the necklace pictured from Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense’s sapphire jewelry set. It was made in Paris between 1800 and 1835.

Empress Eugenie’s brooch containing 2,438 diamonds in the picture was stolen during the raid.

French police officers stand next to a furniture elevator used by robbers to enter the Louvre Museum on Quai Francois Mitterrand in Paris on October 19, 2025

‘We have no indication that the jewelery has crossed the border,’ he said, but added: ‘Anything is possible.’

He said anyone who came forward to hand over the jewels would be treated as ‘active repentance which could later be taken into account’ during the hearing.

The fifth suspect, a 38-year-old partner of one of the men, was also charged with being an accomplice, but was released under judicial supervision pending trial.

Investigators still had no idea whether someone had ordered the theft.

“This is a hypothesis under evaluation, but it cannot be claimed to be more certain than others,” the prosecutor said.

“We refuse to have any preconceived notions as to what might have led the persons concerned to commit this theft,” the prosecutor said, adding that detectives and investigating magistrates were adamant.

‘We haven’t said our last word’ No matter how long it takes.”

Laurence des Cars, the Louvre’s president, has since acknowledged that the museum had failed in its responsibilities, but denied that security had been ignored and said he had consistently warned of the need for further investment since taking office in 2021.

Security measures around cultural institutions in France have been tightened since the incident.

Following the robbery, the Louvre transferred some of its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France.