Royal jewels stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris in a brazen daylight robbery over the weekend have been valued at more than $100m (some 88 million euros), a French prosecutor said.
“It is important to remember that this damage is an economic damage, but it is nothing compared to the historical damage caused by this theft,” Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in an interview on Tuesday.
“The Louvre curator estimated the damages to be 88 million euros,” Beccuau said. That works out to $102m.
The eight items of stolen jewellery included a tiara and earrings from the set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, of the early 19th century. The crown of Empress Eugenie was found outside the museum, apparently dropped by the thieves during their getaway.
The daring heist involved four masked thieves using a crane to smash an upstairs window at the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre, home to France’s remaining crown jewels, and make off with jewellery during a daylight robbery that took just seven minutes and involved a getaway on motorcycles.
Cambriolage au Louvre : “Le préjudice a été estimé par la conservatrice du Louvre à la somme de 88 millions d’euros”
Laure Beccuau, procureure de Paris, au micro d’Anne-Sophie Lapix #RTLSoir pic.twitter.com/3KB1oJ9vn7
— RTL France (@RTLFrance) October 21, 2025
Translation: Burglary at the Louvre: “The damage was estimated by the Louvre curator at the sum of 88 million euros.” – Laure Beccuau, Paris prosecutor, speaking to Anne-Sophie Lapix.
The Louvre’s Director Laurence des Cars has not made any public statement since the heist but is set to appear before the French Senate’s culture committee on Wednesday as anger grows over the lack of security in the nation’s museums.
In January, Des Cars had warned France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati of a “worrying level of obsolescence” at the museum, citing an urgent need for major renovations.
Last month, criminals also broke into Paris’s Natural History Museum, making off with gold nuggets worth more than $1.5m.
French authorities announced on Tuesday that a 24-year-old Chinese woman was detained in that case after she was arrested in Barcelona while trying to dispose of nearly 1kg (2.2 pounds) of melted gold pieces.
Also last month, thieves stole two dishes and a vase from a museum in the central city of Limoges, estimated at $7.6m.
The AFP news agency reported that France’s Court of Auditors noted a “persistent” delay in security upgrades at the Louvre, in a document covering the period from 2019 to 2024, including only a quarter of one wing of the museum being covered by video surveillance.
The Louvre is expected to reopen on Wednesday after being shuttered for two days for a police investigation and the museum’s weekly closure on Tuesday.
Labour unions have complained that security staff positions at the Louvre had been cut, even as attendance at the world-famous museum, whose extensive collections include the Mona Lisa, has soared in recent years.
According to the Louvre’s website, some 8.7 million people visited the institution last year and 8.9 million in 2023, placing the museum at the “very top of the list of the world’s greatest heritage and museum sites”.
French media reported earlier this year that the entrance fee to the Louvre for non-European Union visitors was expected to increase from 22 euros to 30 euros ($25.50 to $34.84) per person on January 1, 2026.
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