French media are calling it “the heist of the century”: the theft of royal jewels from the Louvre museum on October 19 last year. Sept à Huit (January 2026) Earlier this month, French television program Sept à Huit showed a photograph of Empress Eugénie’s crown, which was damaged during the heist. Anadolu // Getty Images The Louvre closed after the robbery but quickly reopened and saw a surge in attendance. He said he had expected to spend his Sunday morning robbing an empty office building, not the Louvre. Louvre staff chose a traditional French remedy, staging a series of strikes, partly in protest at the museum’s weak security.