The Night Thieves Broke Into the Louvre: Paris's Most Audacious Art Heist
By Hafid Assaoui · 2026-06-04
Thieves broke into the most guarded museum on earth. The story of the Louvre heist — and what it reveals about protecting 35,000 works of art. Read by a licensed guide.
The Louvre is one of the most guarded buildings on earth. More than 1,200 security cameras. Motion sensors. Armed guards. Steel barriers that descend from the ceilings at night. And yet, thieves got in. The Heist In the early hours of a winter morning, a group of thieves broke into the Louvre's decorative arts wing and made off with a collection of jewels — pieces that had survived revolutions, wars, and the Nazi occupation of Paris, only to v…