Louvre Safeguards Treasures in Bank of France Vault Following Daring Heist

Mon Oct 27 2025 13:51:06 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Pandemonium erupted at the Louvre as precious jewels were stolen in a brazen daylight heist, prompting the museum to relocate its remaining treasures to the Bank of France's ultra-secure vault.

In the wake of a dramatic heist at the Louvre, where thieves made away with crown jewels valued at €88 million, the museum has transferred its remaining treasures to the Bank of France's fortified vault, designed to withstand any attack. The incident has raised serious concerns about the Louvre's security infrastructure.

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, located just 500 meters from the museum, French media reports.

They will now be stored in the Bank's most secure vault, 26 meters below the ground floor of its elegant headquarters in central Paris. This vault is home to 90% of France's gold reserves, along with the notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci and other national treasures, estimated to worth €600 million.

The Souterraine, as the vault is known, is designed to withstand all forms of attack, featuring a 50cm-thick, seven-tonne door made of flame-resistant concrete, reinforced with steel. Behind this is a 35-tonne rotating turret that prevents any possibility of forced entry.

Last Sunday, masked thieves used an angle grinder to break through a reinforced window into the Louvre's Gallery of Apollo, home to France's crown jewels.

Within eight minutes, the gang seized treasures, including a necklace belonging to Napoleon's wife Empress Marie-Louise and a diadem of Napoleon III's wife Empress Eugenie, valued at €88 million.

The thieves employed a mechanical ladder to access a first-floor balcony to gain entry to the gallery.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez expressed confidence that the thieves would be apprehended, although Louvre director, Laurence des Cars, has pointed out weaknesses in the museum's aging infrastructure. On Wednesday, des Cars revealed that the only security camera monitoring the area of the break-in was inadequately positioned, facing the wrong direction.