Yan Urrizalqui, layout editor

On the morning of Oct. 19, the Louvre Museum in Paris suffered one of the biggest museum heists in history. According to TIME Magazine, eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels, valued at approximately $100 million, were stolen from the Galerie d’Apollon at the Louvre. Among the stolen items were emerald-and sapphire-encrusted diadems, necklaces and brooches, which were once worn by the wives of Napoleon Bonaparte and other 19th-century royal members. 

Shortly after the museum opened its doors, The New York Times shares that the suspects arrived with a mechanical lift to gain access to the Galerie d’Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) through a balcony that was close to the River Seine, a common sight to most Parisians. According to the BBC, two of the thieves got inside by cutting through the window with power tools and then threatened the guards to clear the scene. They wore yellow and orange vests to make it seem as if they were construction workers. 

The thieves left, climbing back down the ladder they came from, and met with the other two members of the team who were waiting on motor scooters, TIME Magazine writes. While escaping from the scene, the robbers dropped what would have been the ninth stolen item, the Crown of Empress Eugénie, which was later found damaged due to the small glass opening through which the thieves took it out, The New York Times states. 

Four people have been suspected of being involved in the heist, ABC7 -New York writes. Three men and a woman have been arrested for theft and criminal conspiracy, but the police are still investigating. The Guardian reports two of them had been in past robberies. Immediately after the robbery, the museum was evacuated and closed. 

The Louvre reopened its doors three days after the incident on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The robbery was described as “calm” and “professional,” due to the lack of violence and tranquility of the thieves, as seen on the CCTVs. Surprisingly enough, ABC News shared that a museum employee said the password for the video surveillance system was simply “Louvre.” French investigators said the entire robbery took seven minutes. Laurence des Cars, the president and director of the Louvre, said the only camera installed outside the Apollo Gallery, where the robbery took place, was not covering the window where the thieves broke in and exited, BBC News says. 

TIME Magazine shares this was not the first heist at the museum. Over 100 years ago, in 1911, a former Louvre employee called Vincenzo Peruggia stole the very well-known painting “Mona Lisa,” hoping to return it to its original home country of Italy. The Louvre has been criticized for spending money on art instead of security in the past years. It seems like employees have long warned of the lack of resourcing and overcrowding. The monetary loss is significant, but it doesn’t compare to the historical value that was lost.