Louvre to build high-security vault for Crown Jewels after €88 million heist

The Louvre will create a new high-security vault to house its historic jewellery collection following a major robbery that exposed vulnerabilities in the museum's security, director Christophe Leribault has announced.

The jewels, which have long been displayed in the Apollo Gallery, will be relocated to a specially designed, windowless facility elsewhere in the museum as part of a wider security overhaul, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media. 

"We are going to create a secure room – a windowless vault – in another part of the museum. It is a major undertaking, but we need to find the ideal location and secure the necessary funding," Leribault told French newspaper Le Parisien.

The museum also plans to install additional surveillance cameras throughout its premises and further strengthen security measures in the wake of the October 2025 robbery.

Leribault said he hopes the new gallery will eventually display the Crown of Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, which was badly damaged during the theft. The crown is currently undergoing restoration.

He expressed confidence that the piece would emerge from the incident with even greater public recognition, likening its story to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, whose fame grew after its theft in 1911.

Alongside the security upgrade, the Louvre intends to restore the Apollo Gallery to its former grandeur. The gallery, decorated by renowned French artists including Charles Le Brun and Eugène Delacroix, was the scene of the robbery.

"We want visitors to see this gallery as the most magnificent room in the Louvre and to experience, at least in part, the palace atmosphere hidden behind the museum setting," Leribault said.

On October 19, 2025, four thieves entered the Louvre using a hydraulic cherry picker before breaking into display cases in the Apollo Gallery. They stole nine pieces of jewellery worth an estimated €88 million. During their escape, they dropped the Crown of Empress Eugénie, which is set with 1,354 diamonds.

By Aghakazim Guliyev