Louvre Transfers Treasures to Fortified Vault Post-Heist

Mon Oct 27 2025 17:04:47 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In response to a shocking robbery, the Louvre Museum has securely relocated its priceless jewels to the secure vault of the Bank of France, ensuring better protection for national treasures.

Following a daylight heist that underscored security vulnerabilities at the Louvre, the museum has transferred its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France's ultra-secure vault. The move comes after thieves successfully executed a brazen break-in, stealing items valued at nearly €88 million. The Bank's vault, designed to withstand various attacks, is now home to these national treasures, which include significant historical artifacts alongside the museum's crown jewels.

The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France after a spectacular daylight heist exposed woeful flaws in the museum's security.

On Friday, a secret police escort oversaw the transfer of some of the remaining jewels to the Bank, approximately 500 meters from the museum, French media report.

They will now be stored in the Bank's most secure vault, located 26 meters below the ground floor of its elegant headquarters in central Paris.

The vault houses 90% of France's gold reserves, in addition to the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci and other national treasures. Its contents are valued at an estimated €600 million (£520 million).

The Souterraine, as the vault is known, was designed to withstand all attacks, according to the bank's website. The main entrance is protected by a 50 cm thick, seven-tonne door made of flame-resistant concrete and reinforced with steel.

Behind this door is a 35-tonne rotating concrete turret that the bank claims prevents any possibility of forced entry.

Last Sunday, masked thieves used an angle grinder to shatter a reinforced window into the Louvre's Gallery of Apollo, where France's crown jewels are kept.

Within eight minutes, the gang confiscated treasures, including a necklace that belonged to Napoleon's wife, Empress Marie-Louise, and a diadem of Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, valued at €88 million (£77 million).

The thieves employed a mechanical ladder mounted on a truck to lift themselves to a first-floor balcony in order to access the gallery.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has expressed strong confidence that the thieves will be apprehended. Despite French ministers asserting that security measures at the museum functioned properly that day, Louvre director, Laurence des Cars, highlighted the weaknesses in their accessibility and security infrastructure.

On Wednesday, des Cars informed French lawmakers that the singular security camera monitoring the external wall where the heist occurred was improperly positioned, facing the wrong direction.

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