Museums and galleries are facing a growing threat from “smash-and-grab” thefts, a security expert has warned following Sunday’s jewel heist at the Musée du Louvre.
The break-in has sent shockwaves across the worldwide museum and heritage community and left the Paris museum facing difficult questions about its security arrangements, with emergency discussions between government ministers and museum officials taking place this week.
A report by the Cours de Compte, France's supreme audit body, which was leaked to l’Agence France Presse yesterday, shows that serious concerns had been raised over the museum’s security systems. The report warned that the institution had “failed to catch up in the deployment of equipment intended to ensure the protection of works”.
The audit body said: “Under the effect of increasing attendance, the cycle of obsolescence of the museum’s technical equipment has accelerated significantly more than the pace of investments made by the establishment to remedy it.”
The report found that CCTV coverage of rooms in the area of the museum targeted by the robbers had increased by just 15% between 2019 and 2024, and that the majority of rooms in some wings of the building were not protected by video surveillance.
“Due to the persistent postponement of the masterplan for modernising security equipment, the installation of cameras is essentially only carried out as part of room redevelopment projects,” it said.
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According to reports, Louvre employees had also warned repeatedly of outdated or broken security systems as well as understaffing. Strikes were held at the museum over the summer in protest against staff levels and overcrowding at the venue.
Well-planned robbery
The well-planned robbery targeted the Louvre’s Galerie d'Apollon, which houses what is left of France’s crown jewels and regalia.
At around 9.30am on Sunday 19 October, four men wearing hi-vis vests reportedly arrived at the building with a vehicle-mounted electric ladder. Two of the men used the ladder to gain access to a second-floor balcony and cut through the window with an angle grinder.
The two men reportedly threatened the guards on duty with power tools before smashing several display cases and grabbing nine items linked to the 19th-century Napoleon dynasty. They then descended the ladder and attempted to set fire to it before escaping on two scooters.
According to a statement from the Louvre, the break-in triggered alarms on the windows and display cases, and was met with an immediate response from museum staff.
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“At the time of the break-in, which was particularly rapid and brutal, the five museum staff present in the room immediately intervened to apply the security protocol: contacting law enforcement and priority protection of people,” the statement said.
The criminals left behind their equipment and one of the objects they had attempted to steal, the crown of Empress Eugenie, the condition of which is currently being examined by the museum.
The daylight robbery reportedly took just seven minutes and no one was hurt in the incident. The museum was immediately closed to the public and is yet to reopen.
The stolen items are:
- A tiara and a large corsage bow brooch that belonged to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
- An emerald necklace and a pair of emerald earrings from Empress Marie Louise, Napoleon's second wife.
- A tiara, necklace and single earring from a sapphire set that belonged to Queen Marie-Amelie, the last Queen of France, and Queen Hortense, the Queen of Holland and the wife of King Louis Bonaparte.
- A brooch known as the "reliquary brooch"
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High alert
Museums and galleries across Europe are on high alert after the robbery, which is the latest in a series of similar raids.
Laura Carter, the customer segment director at Ecclesiastical Insurance, told Museums Journal that there had been an increase in thefts from heritage properties and the “trend of smash and grab-style attacks is likely to continue, particularly with the economic downturn we’re experiencing”.
“These thefts can be driven by high demand for precious metals such as gold and silver, which are influenced by an increase in metal prices, especially against a challenging economic backdrop,” she said.
Carter said the Louvre robbery showed that thieves “can and will target the most prestigious buildings”.
She advised museums to regularly review and test their protections and protocols: “It's a strong reminder not to be complacent when it comes to security.”
Steps to review security*
- Try to locate portable valuable items away from the building perimeter, as far from external doors and windows as possible. The further into a property thieves have to go, the longer it will take them and the greater the risk of detection.
- Where valuables are out on display to members of the public, house them in security-designed, attack-resistant display cabinets. Laminated/security glazing should be used, and cabinet frames, locks, and hinges should be designed to resist physical attacks.
- If virtual tours of a property are included on websites, avoid including the location of electronic security measures, such as intruder alarms and CCTV systems, which could be used to inform a planned attack.
- Review perimeter security arrangements. Restrict vehicular access to the site and locate any designated parking as far from the main property as possible. The further thieves have to travel on foot, the greater the risk of detection and the less they can carry away with them.
- Watch out for visitors acting suspiciously. Behaviour such as walking speedily through some rooms but lingering in front of particular exhibits, studying nearby windows and doors, and looking for electronic security measures such as closed-circuit television and intruder alarm detectors may be indicative of attack planning.
- Electronic security measures should be reviewed alongside physical security arrangements. Consider the installation of an intruder alarm system to aid early detection of unauthorised access if not already fitted. Where fitted, review existing coverage to ensure the system adequately covers potential access points into the property and target areas where there is a concentration of valuables.
*Advice courtesy of Ecclesiastical Insurance
Smash-and-grab raids at UK museums
September 2019
A gang of five sledgehammer-wielding thieves drove two vehicles through the gates of the 18th-century Blenheim Palace before smashing their way into the building with sledgehammers and stealing a gold toilet valued at £4.75m from an art exhibition. Two men, James Sheen and Michael Jones, were jailed in June 2025 for their roles in the heist. The gold has not been recovered.
May 2021
Historic gold and silver artefacts valued at £1m, including a set of gold rosary beads carried by Mary Queen of Scots at her execution, were stolen from Arundel Castle by burglars using ladders to enter the property and smashing glass cabinets grab the items. The items have not been recovered.
May 2024
Two thieves broke into Ely Museum in the early hours of Tuesday 7 May and stole the East Cambridgeshire gold torc and a gold bracelet. The items have not been recovered.
October 2025
Bronze Age gold jewellery was stolen from St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff. CCTV captured thieves smashing their way into the museum shortly after midnight on Monday 6 October and taking just four minutes inside the building. Two men have since been arrested but the items have not been recovered.
