Paris: Newly surfaced video footage has shed light on the dramatic escape of two thieves who pulled off one of France’s most audacious robberies in recent decades — stealing crown jewels worth an estimated €8.8 million (76 crore) from the Louvre Museum.
The 36-second clip, authenticated by investigators, captures the slow, calculated getaway of the robbers following the high-profile heist that has exposed glaring lapses in security at the world’s most visited museum. More than 100 investigators are currently working to crack the case.
The Escape: Lift and Scooters
The footage, reportedly filmed from a nearby building, shows the two robbers making their descent from the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery on a temporary furniture lift. Both men are dressed in black—one wearing a yellow hi-vis vest, the other a motorcycle helmet.
Once on the Quai François Mitterrand, they are seen heading toward a stolen truck equipped with a 30-metre extendable ladder and basket lift, believed to have been used to access the first-floor gallery. Moments later, a voice — thought to belong to a security officer — is heard over a radio saying, “The people are on scooters. They’re going to go, they’re going to go.” Seconds after, the suspects speed away on two scooters.
Inside the Seven-Minute Heist
According to French media, the theft was executed by a four-member gang, with two men entering the museum premises around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. Smashing an unsecured window, they used disc cutters to break open two display cases containing priceless royal jewelry.
Among the eight stolen artifacts were an emerald and diamond necklace gifted by Napoleon I to his wife Marie Louise, and a diadem once owned by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III.
The entire operation reportedly lasted under seven minutes, with the burglars spending less than four minutes inside the gallery.
Louvre Director Admits ‘Terrible Failure’
Facing intense scrutiny, Louvre Director Laurence des Cars admitted to a “terrible failure” in the museum’s security arrangements during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
Des Cars acknowledged that surveillance coverage of the museum’s vast exterior walls was “highly insufficient,” allowing the thieves to carry out their elaborate plan with minimal resistance.
Authorities continue to investigate the heist, focusing on tracing the suspects’ escape route and recovering the stolen crown jewels — in what is now being called France’s most sensational art theft in decades.