Louvre reopens Apollo Gallery after €88m jewel heist

The Louvre reopened the Apollo Gallery to visitors on Wednesday, nine months after a daylight robbery netting €88 million in French crown jewels. The room now stands empty of its historic treasures, stripped of the precious objects that once defined it.

In October 2025, thieves used a truck-mounted crane and a disc cutter to smash through a window at 9:30 a.m., just as the museum was opening. The audacity of the raid prompted the resignation of former director Laurence des Cars and laid bare severe security failures at an institution that draws up to 9 million visitors a year. As a former royal palace opened during the French Revolution, the Louvre houses irreplaceable state assets like the Mona Lisa, making its vulnerability a matter of national concern.

The institutional response has been swift and expensive. Authorities have already installed new surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems. These upgrades mark the initial phase of a broader, decade-long modernization plan estimated to cost up to €800 million. Such a massive public investment highlights the economic and symbolic stakes of securing France’s premier cultural tourist destination.

Rather than simply replacing the stolen items, the Louvre has fundamentally altered the gallery's purpose. The space will now function purely as an architectural showcase, returning to its 17th-century ceremonial roots without any jewels on display. The former exhibits have been relocated elsewhere in the museum.

"It's also an opportunity to rediscover the splendid architecture and decor of this gallery," said Christophe Leribault, the museum's director. The public will instead focus on the space's gilded ceilings—originally designed by Charles Le Brun and later enhanced by Eugène Delacroix—and its Greek frescoes.

During their escape, the thieves dropped a 170-year-old crown commissioned by Napoleon III for his wife, Empress Eugenie. The Louvre stated the crown was "badly deformed" but "nearly intact" and will undergo restoration.

French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard referred to the heist as a "sinister day," adding that it cannot be forgotten. "It was a trauma for the entire world, which, for several days, expressed its shock and sadness in every language," she said. "It was a trauma for us, discovering the fragility of a place we thought unshakeable, and which, like so many others, proved vulnerable."