Louvre reopens to visitors three days after jewel heist

The Louvre Museum has reopened to visitors three days after the theft of royal jewels.

The museum resumed operations on Wednesday, October 22, following the €88 million heist, though the Apollo Gallery — where the jewels were stolen from — remains closed to the public, Caliber.Az reports via France24.

Meanwhile, Louvre Director Laurence des Cars is expected to be questioned by the French Senate’s cultural committee later on October 22 regarding security measures at the world’s most visited museum.

Des Cars, who has led the Louvre since 2021, has yet to make a public statement following Sunday’s seven-minute daylight robbery in which royal jewels were stolen.

The theft has once again sparked debate over insufficient security at French museums, following two similar incidents last month.

As a reminder, the theft occurred on October 19, 2025, around 9:30 a.m., just minutes after the Louvre opened its doors to the public.

The incident took place in the opulent Galerie d’Apollon, home to France’s crown jewels and artefacts from the Napoleonic era.

Four masked thieves, posing as construction workers in high-visibility vests, used a crane lift from a nearby vehicle to reach a second-floor window. They then broke into the gallery, smashing display cases with angle grinders and a blowtorch, and carried out the heist in less than seven minutes before fleeing on motorcycles.

No visitors or staff were injured. Five security guards in the area activated the alarm system and focused on evacuating guests.

The museum was subsequently closed for the rest of the day to secure the site and gather forensic evidence.

By Jeyhun Aghazada