Four Charged in Louvre Crown Jewels Heist

On Oct. 19 thieves used a stolen truck with a movers’ lift to reach the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon, smashed display cases with angle grinders and fled on scooters with nine crown jewels valued at about €88 million. Stolen items include Napoleon I’s emerald-and-diamond necklace and Empress Eugénie’s diadem (set with hundreds of pearls and nearly 2,000 diamonds); Eugénie’s crown was dropped during the escape and later recovered. Investigators recovered tools, DNA traces and some discarded jewelry at the scene. After a 16-day probe prosecutors charged four suspects — three of whom were linked by DNA and have prior theft convictions — while at least one alleged participant remains at large. French authorities have carried out searches, seized material and are pursuing multiple leads including the parallel market. The audacious theft and the difficulty of selling such high-profile pieces has prompted intense scrutiny of the Louvre’s security systems.