Express chainsaw robbery at the Louvre Museum; robbers steal jewelry in less than seven minutes.

During the early hours of Sunday, October 19 , the Louvre Museum in Paris , France - one of the most visited cultural venues in the world - was the scene of a spectacular robbery .

In less than seven minutes, a group armed with chainsaws broke into the museum and stole several historical jewels from the collection of Napoleon Bonaparte and Empress Josephine . Images and videos after the robbery are already circulating on social media.

According to information from Europa Press , the attackers arrived at the scene on motorcycles and used a forklift to access the Apollo Gallery , located on the first floor of the museum, where valuable pieces of French royalty are kept.

There, they broke the security glass with chainsaws and took various jewels before fleeing.

According to preliminary police reports, two men were allegedly directly responsible for the robbery, focusing on the Napoleon and French Sovereigns rooms.

It is estimated that they managed to take at least nine pieces, including a necklace, a brooch and a tiara belonging to the imperial collection. However, the famous “ Regent ,” the museum’s largest diamond —weighing over 140 carats—remained intact.

Authorities found one of the stolen jewels outside the building , presumably the crown of Empress Eugenie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, which had visible damage.

Following the incident, the Louvre Museum announced through its official X account (formerly Twitter) that, “ for exceptional reasons ,” it will remain closed until further notice .

For her part, French Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed that an investigation has already been opened to find those responsible and recover the stolen artifacts.