Although a year has passed since the robbery at the Louvre Museum last year, which had a worldwide impact, the stolen royal jewels have not yet been found. While the French police, who are after jewels worth at least 100-102 million dollars, continue their investigation, eight people in connection with the incident were detained.
However, new robberies occurring repeatedly across Europe have revealed that the incident may be part of a broader security problem rather than an isolated crime.
According to the news in the Wall Street Journal, experts state that museums have to struggle not only with physical security vulnerabilities but also with digital attacks and organized crime networks.
Chris Marinello, founder and CEO of London-based Art Recovery International, stated that the Louvre robbery is a warning for museums around the world and said, "The Louvre incident is a warning that anywhere can be targeted."
The Louvre Museum continued to attract the attention of visitors after the historical royal jewels were stolen in a daylight robbery. The photo shows people visiting the museum on October 22, 2025, three days after the robbery. Photo: AP
THE PAINTINGS ARE LEFT BEHIND, UNDER THE EYE OF THIEVES!
In recent museum robberies, the priorities of thieves have changed. Traditionally targeted paintings began to be replaced by historical artifacts decorated with gold, bronze, precious stones and jewels. According to experts, the rise in gold prices makes such artifacts more attractive to criminals.
Investigations are complicated by the fact that large jewels can be shattered, precious metals can be melted down, and objects turned into small pieces can be difficult to trace. Researchers say that in black market networks stretching from Antwerp to Tel Aviv, some jewelers can turn large jewels into smaller, harder-to-track pieces.
In contrast, it is much more difficult to dispose of well-known paintings. Marinello pointed out that a Renoir painting cannot be destroyed by melting it down, and stated that the recognition of works of art could be effective in their recovery.
The broken window in the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre Museum in Paris in July attracted the attention of visitors. Photo: AP
SEVEN PAINTINGS WERE STOLEN IN ITALY, THE WORKS WERE FOUND ONE BY ONE
A total of seven paintings were stolen in the robberies that took place in March and September at the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Parma, Italy, and the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France. All of the paintings, including works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne and Henri Matisse, were later seized by the police and returned to the museums.
However, the same results were not obtained for every work. The bronze book cover designed by Salvador Dali, stolen from the C. Karoutzos Center for Contemporary Art in central France on October 5, is still missing. The work weighs approximately 150 kilograms; It was decorated with gold, precious stones and shells. Museum owner Christian Karoutzos stated that although security cameras recorded suspicious people, the artifact could not be found and described what happened as a "real tragedy".
The paintings "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" and "Young Woman at the Well", which were found after being stolen from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, were exhibited at the Center for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Marseille on October 12. Photo: AP
ROBBERY IN THREE MINUTES: THEY ARE ALREADY RUNNING BEFORE THE POLICE ARRIVE
Another prominent detail in museum robberies is that the crimes are completed in an increasingly shorter time. In 1990, two people disguised as police officers at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston stayed in the museum for approximately 81 minutes and stole masterpieces by Vermeer and Rembrandt. It was stated that the robbery carried out at the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Italy this year took less than three minutes.
According to former FBI agent Geoff Kelly, who investigated the Gardner robbery, thieves aim to quickly collect the artifacts they can and escape before the police reach the scene. The activation of alarm systems does not always mean that immediate intervention is possible; The real chase often begins after the suspects escape.
SECURITY CAMERAS PLAY TRACES, BUT...
Security cameras, which have become widespread in big cities, play an important role in finding stolen works. Two suspects who stole eight Henri Matisse prints from a library in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were identified when the moments when they staggered due to the weight of the works during their escape were captured on camera. Taking advantage of the images, authorities seized the prints in August.
However, according to experts, the presence of camera systems alone is not enough. Quick review of images, effectiveness of alarm systems and intervention capacity of security teams are also among the determining factors.
THIS TIME THE TARGET IS NOT DOORS, BUT SECURITY SYSTEMS
The risks threatening museums are not limited to physical attacks. The Paris Museum of Natural History suffered a cyber attack in July that disabled its alarm and security systems.
Two months later, thieves entered the museum and stole approximately 6 kilograms of gold by cutting off the emergency exit door. Among the artifacts valued at approximately $2 million, there were also historical pieces from the Gold Rush period in California.
The Louvre management is also creating a special unit to strengthen its digital security. A previous audit had found that a weak password such as "LOUVRE" was used in some of the museum's video surveillance and physical security systems. Museum officials announced that the password in question was changed.
IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THE NEW TOOL OF THIEVES?
Marinello, CEO of Art Recovery International, said that by using artificial intelligence, criminals can identify small museums that have collections containing high amounts of gold or may have weaker security measures. He emphasized that this possibility is a serious source of concern for museum managers.
On the other hand, museums have also started to benefit from artificial intelligence-supported camera systems. These systems aim to help security guards spot suspicious movements earlier by analyzing visitors' behavior rather than simply recording images.
MUSEUMS OPEN THEIR DOORS, BUT THEIR TREASURES ARE NOT AWAY
While some museums remain closed for a long time after the robberies, others have to reopen without being able to exhibit their works. The Louvre reopened the Apollo Gallery to visitors but removed the jewels from the gallery. Thus, the historical site was left deprived of its once valuable treasures.
The Villena Municipal Archaeological Museum in Spain remained closed after the robbery on August 27. The thieves entered the museum by forcing the side window, broke through the bulletproof display case and stole many gold, silver and amber artifacts from the Bronze Age, including bracelets, bowls, bottles and three crowns. The robbery reportedly lasted approximately three minutes.
A NECKLACE WITH 673 DIAMONDS WAS STOLEN, THE MUSEUM WAS OPENED THE NEXT DAY
A Van Cleef & Arpels necklace containing 673 diamonds, dated 1939, was stolen from the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, the capital of Austria. To demonstrate its confidence in security measures, the museum management reopened the exhibition the next day instead of closing it. The museum announced that the exhibition attracted more than 70 thousand visitors.
The Lalique Museum in France lost 27 works in the attack in July. The thieves broke six display cases with sledgehammers and stole works, most of which were jewelry. Museum Director Veronique Brumm Schaich stated that the museum is planned to reopen on November 28 after increased security measures. However, photographs will be exhibited instead of original works in the gallery devoted to Rene Lalique's early jewelery designs.
WHEN WILL THE DAMAGED CROWN OF THE LOUVRE BE EXHIBITED?
One of the most notable artifacts left from the Louvre robbery was the 19th-century crown of Empress Eugenie, which thieves dropped outside the museum during their escape. One of the crown's eight golden eagles and 10 of its 1,354 diamonds are missing, conservators examined. In contrast, the sphere at its center with its 56 emeralds remained intact.
The museum management states that a special and safe area must be created so that the crown can be exhibited again. It is planned to present the work to visitors in the Louvre when appropriate conditions are met.
All these events reveal the extent of the threat facing museums in Europe. According to experts, the real problem is not only finding the stolen works; To prevent historical and cultural heritage from falling into the hands of criminal networks. What happened across Europe after the Louvre robbery shows that museum security has become an issue that must be addressed on an international scale, not by individual institutions.
