Louvre Museum closes after theft

PARIS (AP) — A theft occurred at the Louvre on Sunday, France’s culture minister said, as the museum closed for the day while authorities investigate.

“A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” Rachida Dati wrote on X.

The Louvre said it would close “for exceptional reasons,” offering no further details on the heist. No injuries were reported.

Dati said she was on site and that an investigation was underway.

French daily Le Parisien reported that the criminals entered the world’s most visited museum and former palace via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway. The report said they used a freight elevator to gain direct access to the targeted room in the Apollo Gallery.

After breaking windows, they reportedly stole “nine pieces from the jewellery collection of Napoleon and the Empress,” Le Parisien said.

The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous was in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former worker who hid inside the museum and walked out with the painting under his coat. It was recovered two years later in Florence — an episode that helped make Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait the world’s best-known artwork.

In 1983, two Renaissance-era pieces of armor were stolen from the Louvre and only recovered nearly four decades later. The museum’s collection also bears the legacy of Napoleonic-era looting that continues to spark restitution debates today.

The Louvre is home to more than 33,000 works spanning antiquities, sculpture and painting — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to European masters. Its star attractions include the Mona Lisa, as well as the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

The Galerie d’Apollon, where Sunday’s theft reportedly took place, displays a selection of the French Crown Jewels.

The museum can draw up to 30,000 visitors a day.