Louvre heist mastermind unhappy with €88 million loot, suspects say

Two men, identified as 40‑year‑old unlicensed taxi driver Abdoulaye N. and 36‑year‑old unemployed Algerian Ghelamallah A., were arrested a week after breaking into the Louvre’s Apollo gallery on 19 October 2025. They confessed that they were recruited only two to three days before the robbery, shown a video of the display cases, and were promised €15,000‑€25,000 each. Using a furniture lift to reach a first‑floor balcony, they smashed a window, cut the glass of two vitrines and stole eight pieces of French crown jewellery valued at about €88 million, including tiaras, necklaces, earrings and the gem‑encrusted crown of Empress Eugénie, which one of them dropped during the escape. The suspects said the unnamed mastermind who hired them was displeased, believing they could have taken more. Both men claimed they acted under threat of retaliation and refused to name the organiser. The heist, described as one of the boldest art thefts in modern history, led to the resignation of the Louvre’s director and sparked worldwide attention to museum security.