Video shows brazen Louvre thief cutting into jewel case with saw during daring daylight heist
The high-profile robbery is a fresh embarrassment for the world's most-visited museum, already under scrutiny for overcrowding and thin staffing
A video released by French media outlet BFMTV appeared to show one of the suspects in Sunday's high-profile robbery of the Louvre art gallery in Paris, which resulted in the theft of priceless Napoleonic jewels.
The heist at the world's most-visited museum took place on Sunday over the course of just a few minutes, after several thieves rode a basket lift up the exterior facade to gain entry through a window. They smashed display cases and used an electric saw to cut through glass before making off with eight pieces of 19th-century jewelry.
The short video clip aired on French television shows one suspect wearing a yellow, high-vis vest over a black hoodie as they cut through a display case in the center of the Apollon Gallery, where the Crown Diamonds are kept.
France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed on X that the robbery took place Sunday morning when the Louvre was opening, just 250 meters from the Mona Lisa, and that no injuries were reported. She said she was on site with authorities and that investigations were underway.
"They broke a window and went towards several display cases where they stole the jewels. These are jewels that have genuine heritage value and are, in fact, priceless," French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez added.
According to accounts from Louvre staff members, the robbery occurred at a time when the museum's crowding and inadequate staffing had put a strain on security measures, The Associated Press reported.
Authorities have not yet released information on the identities of the thieves.
Alarms were reportedly triggered when thieves ascended the exterior of the Apollon Gallery and entered through a window, according to France's Ministry of Culture.
“The five museum agents, present in the room and in the adjacent spaces, immediately intervened," the ministry said in a statement. “The criminals were put to flight, leaving behind their equipment."
The museum was closed to the public for the rest of Sunday.
The major theft also collides with a deeper tension the Louvre has struggled to resolve: swelling crowds and stretched staff. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions say mass tourism leaves too few eyes on too many rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones, freight routes, and visitor flows meet.
Security around the marquee works remains tight — the Mona Lisa sits behind bulletproof glass in a climate-controlled case — but Sunday’s theft also underscored that protections are not uniformly as robust across the museum’s more than 33,000 objects.
The theft is a fresh embarrassment for a museum already under scrutiny.
“How can they ride a lift to a window and take jewels in the middle of the day?” said Magali Cunel, a French teacher from near Lyon. “It’s just unbelievable that a museum this famous can have such obvious security gaps.”