PARIS (AP) – France’s culture minister announced a theft at the Louvre on Sunday and the museum was closed for the day while authorities investigated.
“There was a robbery this morning at the opening of the Louvre,” Rashida Dati wrote in X.
The Louvre said it was closed “for exceptional reasons” and did not provide further details about the robbery. No injuries were reported.
Dati was at the scene and said the investigation is ongoing.
French daily Le Parisien reported that the attackers entered the world’s most visited museum and former palace through a façade facing the Seine River that was under construction. According to the report, they used a freight elevator to gain direct access to the target room in the Apollo Gallery.
After breaking windows, they stole “nine items from the jewelery collections of Napoleon and the Empress,” according to Le Parisien newspaper.
The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous incident occurred in 1911, when the Mona Lisa disappeared from its frame and a former employee, Vincenzo Perugia, hid inside the museum and left with the painting under his coat. The work was discovered two years later in Florence. This episode led to Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait becoming the most famous work of art in the world.
In 1983, two pieces of Renaissance-era armor were stolen from the Louvre Museum, and were not recovered nearly 40 years later. The museum’s collection also includes the legacy of Napoleonic-era plunder, which continues to spark debates about reparations today.
The Louvre is home to more than 33,000 works of art, ranging from antiques, sculptures, and paintings from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the classical world to European masters. Its popular attractions include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Victory of Samothrace.
A selection of France’s crown jewels is on display at the Apollo Museum, where Sunday’s theft reportedly took place.
The museum attracts up to 30,000 visitors a day.
