Dramatic Heist at the Louvre: Attendant Recalls Chaos

Tue Oct 28 2025 22:46:28 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

An attendant shares her harrowing experience during the Louvre heist where priceless artifacts were stolen amidst panic.

In a shocking account, a Louvre gallery attendant recounted the morning of a brazen heist that resulted in the theft of eight of France's crown jewels. Amidst confusion and chaos, the attendant described hearing a loud, metallic noise as thieves broke in using an angle grinder. Panic ensued when she realized the seriousness of the situation, leading to an evacuation while priceless items, including jewels belonging to Empress Eugenie and Marie-Louise, were stolen within minutes.

A gallery attendant on duty at the Louvre when thieves broke in and stole eight of France's crown jewels has said 'no-one could have been prepared' for what unfolded as visitors began to arrive on Sunday morning.

'All of a sudden we heard a huge noise,' she told radio station France Inter, in the first account given by an attendant at the scene.

The unnamed attendant and two colleagues initially thought the noise to be an angry visitor, but it was not a normal sound: 'It was a dull, slightly metallic noise.'

It was, in fact, the moment thieves had used an angle grinder to burst through a reinforced window into the Gallery of Apollo, where the Louvre's collection of historic jewelry is kept.

Within eight minutes, the gang seized treasures worth an estimated total of €88m (£77m), including a necklace that belonged to Napoleon's wife Empress Marie-Louise and a diadem of Napoleon III's wife Empress Eugenie.

The thieves employed a mechanical ladder mounted on a lorry to reach a first-floor balcony and gain entry. As panic set in, two tourists rushed toward the criminals.

'I saw one of the criminals turn around with something that looked to me like a chainsaw, then I yelled at my colleagues to get out,' she recalled. She shouted a second time that it was a robbery and that they should run.

Employees alerted authorities via walkie-talkies, and all doors were quickly secured to protect adjacent galleries.

Reflecting on the shocking event, she commented on how unbelievable it was that the display cases could be broken into: 'Never for a moment did we think there was such a risk... nobody can be prepared for that.'

Another employee described the aftermath, noting a strong smell of petrol as they arrived at the scene. The gang had reportedly ruptured their lorry’s fuel tank and left a blowtorch behind, suggesting they intended to set fire to the vehicle to eliminate evidence.

This string of events highlights not only the audacity of the thieves but also raises serious questions about the security protocols in place at one of the world’s most famous museums.