The Louvre Museum in Paris extended its closure for a second consecutive day on October 20, 2025, as authorities intensified their search for a gang of thieves who executed a brazen daylight robbery, stealing priceless imperial jewels in a mere seven minutes. The heist, which occurred on Sunday morning in the museum's Apollo Gallery, targeted the French Crown Jewels collection and has left visitors frustrated while reigniting national debates over inadequate security at cultural institutions. With 60 investigators pursuing leads on an organised crime syndicate—possibly involving foreign operatives—the incident marks the Louvre's first major theft since 1998, when a Camille Corot painting vanished without trace, underscoring persistent vulnerabilities in France's heritage protection.

The masked intruders arrived around 9:30 a.m., just 30 minutes after the museum's opening, parking a truck equipped with an extendable ladder—similar to those used by movers—beneath the gallery. They scaled the ladder, cut through a window using specialised tools, and shattered display cases to seize nine jewellery pieces before fleeing amid shouts from alerted staff. In their haste, the thieves dropped and damaged Empress Eugenie's crown, a 19th-century masterpiece encrusted with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, which now lies cracked on the gallery floor.

Among the eight items still missing are an emerald-and-diamond necklace gifted by Napoleon to Empress Marie-Louise, a diadem belonging to Eugenie adorned with nearly 2,000 diamonds, and a sapphire-and-diamond necklace once owned by Marie-Amelie, France's final queen, featuring eight sapphires and 631 diamonds. Experts like auctioneer Alexandre Giquello of Drouot note that the jewels' historical significance renders them nearly impossible to sell on the black market without disassembly, potentially aiding recovery efforts.

Tourists expressed profound disappointment outside the iconic glass pyramid entrance, where long queues formed before the closure announcement. American visitor Jesslyn Ehlers, 38, and her husband scrambled to rebook tickets after months of anticipation. "We're just kind of disappointed. We've been planning this for a very long time," she told AFP. Elderly US tourist Carol Fuchs, who endured a 45-minute wait, marvelled at the robbery's audacity: "Coming through a window? Will they ever be found? I doubt it. I think it's long gone." The disruption affects not only sightseers eyeing masterpieces like the Mona Lisa but also the museum's 10 million annual visitors, many of whom view the Louvre as a bucket-list pinnacle. This closure, coupled with the heist's efficiency, has amplified public outcry, with social media abuzz over footage of the abandoned ladder and shattered cases.

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The robbery has exposed glaring security lapses, prompting admissions from top officials. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin conceded on France Inter radio that protections failed spectacularly: "We have failed, since people were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of Paris and get people up it in several minutes to grab priceless jewels, giving France a terrible image." Interior Minister Laurent Nunez echoed this, labelling museum security a "major weak spot" after recent thefts, including $700,000 in gold samples from Paris's Natural History Museum and $7.6 million in porcelain from Limoges last month.

Critics argue that French cultural sites, unlike fortified banks, rely on outdated measures amid rising organised crime. As the probe advances—focusing on the left-behind tools and potential international links—the Louvre vows a swift reopening, but the incident may catalyse overdue reforms, including enhanced surveillance and rapid-response protocols, to safeguard France's irreplaceable artistic legacy.

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