Louvre Museum Reopens After $88 Million Diamond Heist

Thu Oct 23 2025 04:26:58 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The Louvre Museum in Paris has resumed operations just three days after a daring daylight robbery resulted in the theft of jewels valued at €88 million.

The Louvre Museum reopened to visitors on Wednesday, three days post a brazen heist which involved the theft of €88 million in jewelry. While most parts of the museum are accessible, the Apollo Gallery, where the robbery took place, remains closed. Thieves used cutting-edge tools to commit the crime in less than eight minutes and have not yet been apprehended. In response, security measures have been bolstered across cultural sites in France.

The Louvre Museum in Paris has reopened three days after jewellery worth €88 million (£76m; $88m) was stolen in a brazen daylight robbery.

Visitors were welcomed back to the Louvre from 09:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday, but the museum said its Apollo Gallery - where the heist took place - remained closed.

Thieves wielding power tools took less than eight minutes to break into the world's most-visited museum and make off with the loot on scooters on Sunday morning. They have not yet been caught.

The museum's director Laurence des Cars is set to appear before the French Senate's culture committee on Wednesday afternoon.

The robbery has raised serious questions about security at the museum, especially as a preliminary report found that one in three rooms lacked CCTV and the alarm system failed to activate during the heist. Security measures have since been tightened across cultural institutions in France.

The museum was closed immediately following the daring incident, with assurances to visitors who had pre-booked that they would receive refunds.

Meanwhile, tens of investigators are on the case, aiming to apprehend the criminals.

Four masked thieves used a truck with mechanical ladders to access the Gallery of Apollo via a balcony close to the River Seine at 09:30 on Sunday. They threatened guards, cut through glass display cases, and escaped in under eight minutes. Among the stolen items are a diamond and emerald necklace given to Napoleon's wife, and a tiara worn by Empress Eugenie.

Following the incident, a damaged crown belonging to Empress Eugenie was discovered along the escape route.