---
title: "Damage from Louvre jewellery heist estimated at 88 million euros, Paris prosecutor says"
description: "PARIS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Thieves who staged a daring daylight heist at the Louvre museum in Paris made off with jewels worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102.63 million), Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Tuesday."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-10-21-damage-from-louvre-jewellery-heist-estimated-at-88-million-euros-paris-prosecutor-says/"
published: "2025-10-21T20:54:06"
updated: "2025-10-21T20:54:07"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 137
---

# Damage from Louvre jewellery heist estimated at 88 million euros, Paris prosecutor says

> PARIS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Thieves who staged a daring daylight heist at the Louvre museum in Paris made off with jewels worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102.63 million), Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Tuesday.

By Reuters · Published 21 October 2025, 22:54 SAST · Updated 21 October 2025, 22:54 SAST

## Key points
- In a heist that left the Louvre's historic treasures feeling a bit less royal, four audacious thieves used a crane to smash their way in, snatching up 19th-century jewels before making their escape on motorbikes—because why not add a touch of Hollywood to a national humiliation?
- Four individuals executed a brazen heist at the Louvre, using a crane to smash a window and steal royal jewellery.
- The stolen items included a tiara and earrings from 19th-century queens, highlighting the cultural significance of the theft.
- Prosecutors emphasized the heist's economic damage pales in comparison to the historical loss of these artefacts.
- The crown of Empress Eugenie was found abandoned outside the museum, underscoring the chaotic nature of the escape.

## Content

"It is important to remember that this damage is an economic damage, but it is nothing compared to the historical damage caused by this theft," the prosecutor told RTL radio.

In what some politicians branded a national humiliation, [four people broke into the Louvre](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N3W000F&linkedFromStory=true) on Sunday using a crane to smash an upstairs window. They took objects from a gallery for royal jewellery [before escaping on motorbikes](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS8N3US02U&linkedFromStory=true).

The eight items of stolen jewellery included a tiara and earrings from the set of Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense, of the early 19th century. The crown of Empress Eugenie was found outside the museum, apparently dropped during the getaway.

($1 = 0.8575 euro)

How thieves broke into the Louvre museum and what they stole [https://www.reuters.com/graphics/FRANCE-CRIME/LOUVRE/byprezooove/](https://www.reuters.com/graphics/FRANCE-CRIME/LOUVRE/byprezooove/)

(Reporting by Zhifan Liu and Dominique Vidalon in Paris; Editing by Matthew Lewis)