It was approximately 9:34 a.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST) on October 19, 2025, when two men dressed as construction workers gained access to the second floor in the Louvre museum in Paris through a window on the south entrance of the Apollo Gallery. Within seconds, an alarm was triggered in the security control room, and a staff member quickly sent a radio call to command center members to alert them of the intruders. The burglars used disc cutters to neatly cut the glass of two display cases and took a total of eight jewels, all summed to be worth more than $100 million. While the robbery was in progress, museum visitors were evacuated, and a nearby police station was called by the museum manager. At around 9:37 a.m. CEST, a message was sent to the entire staff requesting that all doors be closed immediately. At around 9:38 a.m. CEST, a minute later, the thieves left via the same window they entered and fled east, where two other people were waiting for them on scooters. The total heist took them around four minutes. Prosecutor Laure Beccuau, whose office is leading the investigation, stated that about 100 investigators are involved in the police hunt for the suspects and gems.
As of now, a total of seven people have been arrested, four of whom are believed to be directly involved in the heist and three who the police believe will be able to provide them with more information. Two of the main suspects who are believed to have entered the museum were arrested on Saturday, October 25, 2025. Their names have not been disclosed, but we now know that it was a thirty-four-year-old former garbage collector and a thirty-nine-year-old taxi driver. Under custody, they partially admitted to being involved in the robbery. The other five arrests were made on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, and only two of the people arrested are suspected of being directly involved in the heist. Their names have also yet to be disclosed, but we know that it is a thirty-seven-year-old man and a thirty-eight-year-old woman.
As authorities continue to investigate the case, across the ocean, Claremont High School (CHS), with its rich French community, begins to feel the impact. The rich French community at CHS was created through the French classes and the French club, both led by the only French teacher on the CHS campus, Sheridin Wright. When asked for her thoughts on the recent Louvre heist, she expressed concerns.
“It just feels invasive to take something that is such high value, both monetarily and historically,” Wright said. “A lot of French people speculate that this might be more than just the money; it could also be them trying to make a political statement.”
