Louvre adds bars to window where thieves entered months after museum heist

The Louvre Museum has added bars to the window where a group of thieves entered to steal more than $100 million worth of Napoleonic jewels in one of the most significant heists in modern history.

“The Louvre is learning all the lessons from the theft on October 19 and is continuing to transform and strengthen its security architecture,” the museum said in a post to social media announcing new security measures.

The group of thieves who stole the jewels had parked a hoist truck on Quai François Mitterrand, the street running along the south side of the museum next to the Seine, and used it to break into the second-floor window in the Galerie d’Apollon.

The theft happened around 9:30 a.m. local time on a Sunday, after the museum had already opened its doors to the public. The entire theft lasted under eight minutes and the thieves were able to speed away on motorcycles.

The security measures announced by the museum are specifically designed to prevent a repeat of the thieves' tactics.

Besides the bars outside the Galerie d’Apollon’s French window, the museum has added new barriers on Quai François Mitterrand intended to prevent unauthorized vehicles from parking or deploying specialized equipment close to the museum’s historic walls.

France’s national police have kept a heightened presence in the area since the theft and officials said that, in 2026, the museum would also add 100 new security cameras around its perimeter as part of a recently approved $92 million security master plan that will be implemented in phases.

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