Louvre heist in broad daylight amid apparent security lapses puts global museums on alert

Following the caller heist astatine the Louvre successful Paris — the world's astir visited depository — information measures astatine museums person travel nether scrutiny for seemingly precise bully reason. 

A leaked study by France's ultimate audit assemblage Cours de Compte indicated superior concerns astir information systems astatine the treasured museum.

The study alleged the installation had a "chronic under-investment successful accusation systems," arsenic Reuters noted. 

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It was besides revealed this week that the surveillance strategy password was seemingly conscionable "LOUVRE" — making it casual for robbers to hack into the system, arsenic different outlets reported.

On Oct. 19, a four-person squad broke into the Apollo Gallery successful wide daylight and stole 8 jewels valued collectively astatine 88 cardinal euros ($102 million). Seven radical person been arrested for roles successful the crime, with 4 suspects formally charged.

This diamond and sapphire tiara belonging to Queen Marie-Amelie, the past queen of France, and worn arsenic good by Queen Hortense and Isabelle of Orleans, was stolen successful a brazen heist connected Oct. 19. The tiara contains implicit 1,000 diamonds, according to the Louvre.  (Stéphane Maréchalle/RMN-Grand Palais)

Fox News Digital contacted the Louvre to inquire whether the heist is affecting its information measures, but the depository said it does not "discuss information matters."

Fox News Digital besides reached retired to respective large museums successful the U.S. seeking remark astir imaginable upgrades to their information systems, but did not instantly perceive back.  

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The Louvre has faced theft before, joining a agelong past of high-profile creation heists.

Read connected for conscionable a few.

Swiped from its frame

In August 1911, panic broke retired astatine the Louvre erstwhile Leonardo da Vinci’s "Mona Lisa" was recovered to person disappeared.

A thief had swiped the coating from its framework — and escaped with it by hiding the enactment of creation nether his coat, arsenic Fox News Digital antecedently noted. 

The famed Louvre Museum successful Paris was closed connected Oct. 19 aft respective pieces of invaluable jewelry were stolen successful a brazen robbery. (Zhang Weiguo/VCG via AP)

"The quality [of the theft] dispersed similar wildfire and generous rewards were promised for her return," the Louvre recounts connected its ain website.

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Two years later, Vincenzo Peruggia — a glazier who had worked astatine the Louvre — tried to merchantability the da Vinci masterpiece that he'd stolen to an Italian creation dealer.

After the trader alerted authorities, the world’s astir celebrated coating was yet returned to the Louvre. 

The theft connected Oct. 19 occurred successful wide daylight. The jewels stolen that time are valued astatine $102 million.  (Thibault Camus: AP)

Peruggia was arrested and served lone a abbreviated situation word for the theft, according to History.com and different sources.

Remains unsolved

Another heist, acold much recent, took spot astatine the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum successful Boston. 

It remains unsolved to this day.

A study alleged the depository "failed to drawback up successful the deployment of instrumentality intended to guarantee the extortion of works," l’Agence France Presse reported. (Antoine Gyori-Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Two men disguised arsenic section constabulary officers entered the depository successful the aboriginal hours of March 18, 1990, saying they were responding to a telephone of a disturbance, according to The Associated Press.

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The men overtook 2 information guards and tied them up with duct tape.

The thieves were capable to bargain 13 pieces of art, including works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet, successful the astir 81 minutes they spent there.

Two men disguised arsenic section constabulary officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and stole 13 pieces of creation successful 1990. Today, the bare frames near by the thieves bent successful remembrance of the mislaid works.  (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The masterpieces, including Rembrandt’s "Storm connected the Sea of Galilee," were estimated to beryllium worthy arsenic overmuch arsenic fractional a cardinal dollars astatine the clip of the heist.

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The bare frames near by the thieves inactive bent successful the depository to this day. 

"It's an intentional prime designed to nonstop a connection to the nationalist — a reminder of what was mislaid and anticipation that what was erstwhile determination volition someday return," according to the FBI's website.

From the celebrated "Mona Lisa" theft successful 1911 to modern depository heists, creation transgression continues to situation information systems worldwide. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

‘Critical time’

In September 2025, conscionable a period earlier the astir caller Louvre heist, thieves broke into Paris' Natural History Museum. 

They stole golden samples worthy astir $700,000, according to Agence France-Presse and the depository itself.

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The intruders were said to person utilized an space grinder and a blowtorch to unit their mode into the complex, arsenic Artnet.com and others reported.

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It prompted a depository spokesperson to state that this is simply a "critical clip for taste institutions" successful France. 

At Blenheim Palace, wherever Winston Churchill was born, a thief stole a aureate toilet successful 2018. (Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

And astatine the state mansion of Blenheim Palace, wherever Winston Churchill was born, a thief stole a aureate toilet successful 2018.

The toilet was an creation installation titled "America" by Maurizio Cattelan. It was made of 18-carat golden and insured for astir $6 million, according to AP.

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Armed with sledgehammers and crowbars, the thief smashed a model to participate the location portion prying the toilet from its plumbing wrong 5 minutes — aboriginal escaping successful a stolen car.

Symbol of ‘renaissance’ 

On Friday, the Louvre's director, Laurence des Cars, said the diamond and emerald-studded crown of Empress Eugénie, which was recovered damaged extracurricular the depository aft seemingly being dropped during the Oct. 19 robbery, volition beryllium restored arsenic a awesome of "renaissance," AP reported. 

Only Empress Eugénie’s imperial crown, with much than 1,300 diamonds, was recovered connected the time of the robbery extracurricular the museum.

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Des Cars said the crown was apt damaged erstwhile it was removed from its show lawsuit done a "small cut" made by a disc cutter utilized by the thieves, alternatively than erstwhile it fell to the ground.

Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch, positive The Associated Press and Reuters, contributed reporting.