Louvre robbery: Chainsaw bandits raid Napoleon's jewels

Newsroom, October 19, 2025:

A brazen daylight break-in rocked Paris's Louvre on Sunday morning, with an unknown group of thieves arriving on a scooter armed with small chainsaws to target the Apollo Gallery.

They breached the museum's Seine-side construction zone, rode a freight elevator to the exhibit, and shattered display cases to snatch nine jewels from Napoleon and Empress Josephine's collection, whose worth remains under assessment.

The iconic site, home to 33,000 treasures, including the Mona Lisa, shut down abruptly due to "exceptional circumstances," according to France's culture minister, Rachida Dati, who confirmed the theft on X and vowed a thorough investigation.

This marks the Louvre's latest security breach, recalling the 1911 Mona Lisa disappearance by a disguised insider and the 1983 armour heist, which was solved after 40 years.

The world's most-visited museum, drawing up to 30,000 daily guests, now faces questions on facade vulnerabilities during renovations.