On Oct. 19 2025, the Louvre Museum in Paris was broken into. Four thieves armed with power tools used an electric ladder to break into the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) via the balcony window. The thieves escaped on scooters after being in the Louvre for only four minutes and dropped The Imperial Crown of Empress Eugénie along the escape route. Since the robbery, speculations about who did it, why they did it, and how they got away with it have spread like wildfire. 

While names have not been released the four people are being charged with connection to the case. A 37-year-old man charged with organized theft and criminal conspiracy, his 38-year-old partner charged with complicity, and two other men who were arrested earlier and charged with theft by an organized gang. However ex-convict Larry Lawton believes there are more factors to this theft than the police are letting on. He shares his “expert” advice with his youtube followers, explaining that it must have been an inside job because without insider information the thieves would not have known about the alarm system or the best window to break into. Lawton also suggests that the thieves must have been amateurs, labeling them as unprofessional and an embarrassment to the robber community.

Along with the lost crown the other items stolen were a tiara and brooch belonging to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, an emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from Empress Marie Louise, a tiara, necklace and single earring from the sapphire set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense brooch known as the “reliquary brooch”. These items are said to cost over 100million dollars. Yet, in order to be sold the items will have to be melted down and separated making the cost much lower. “The thieves are not going to keep them intact, they are going to break them up, melt down the valuable metal, recut the valuable stones and hide evidence of their crime,” expert in art recovery Christopher Marinello states.

French citizens are more than upset about the robbery. “We are all disappointed and angry,” Natalie Goulet, a member of the French Senate’s finance committee shared during an interview with BBC, “It is difficult to understand how it happened so easily.” she continued.

The robbery also has caused political outrage around France. Emmanuel Macron, the president of France said it was “an attack on our history,” National Rally leader Jordan Bardella states it was an “intolerable humiliation” and Marine Le Pen of Front Nationale agrees saying it’s a “wound to the French soul.”

However civilians around the world are having a different response. Tiktok and Instagram are ablaze with jokes and memes about the heist. A 15 year old tourist wearing a fedora was mistaken for an old fashioned detective hired by the Paris police department. Some people even dressed up as the robbers for Halloween. The comical aspects of the case, such as the scooters and the ‘detective’ spotted on the scene has led many social media spectators to believe that the heist was a setup to promote the new Now You See Me movie about magicians who steal from banks. However the damage caused by the heist was too great to be a stunt. The repairs are said to cost between €700 million and €800 million. 

The Galerie d’Apollon is still closed for repairs and investigations, though the rest of the museum is once again open to the public. The security has been doubled along with the glass thickness on every window and display case. Two out of four suspects have partially confessed to the crime. And although things seem to be looking up for the largest museum in France, the eight stolen items have still not been found and neither has the “inside man” who is still at large.

Article by Ozy Zinke-Haschemeyer