PARIS — The Louvre Museum’s storied Apollo Gallery has welcomed visitors back through its doors, but the glittering jewels that once filled its display cases are nowhere to be seen. The gallery reopened Wednesday, nine months after a bold robbery exposed serious security weaknesses at the world’s most-visited museum.
Louvre director Christophe Leribault announced that while visitors are free to admire the gallery’s ornate 17th-century interior, the museum’s jewel collection will now be displayed in a different, more secure area of the Paris museum.
The Apollo Gallery holds deep historical significance — it was created during the reign of a young King Louis XIV and later served as inspiration for the breathtaking Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Architect Louis Le Vau designed the space, and painter Charles Le Brun decorated it around the theme of the sun as a tribute to Louis XIV.
Culture Minister Catherine Pegard called the reopening a symbol of a fresh start for the museum, describing the heist as a “trauma for the whole world.” She also committed to strengthening security measures at museums across the country.
The robbery itself unfolded with shocking speed last October. Two men parked a moving lift alongside the building in the middle of the day, climbed to the second floor, shattered a window, and used angle grinders to break open display cases. They then escaped on the backs of scooters driven by two accomplices — the entire operation taking less than seven minutes.
Four individuals suspected of direct involvement in the crime have since been charged and taken into custody. However, the vast majority of stolen items have not been recovered. One exception is a crown that belonged to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, which was discovered damaged near the museum and is currently being restored.
The heist also claimed a casualty in museum leadership. In February, Laurence des Cars, who was serving as museum director at the time of the robbery, stepped down following heavy criticism over the theft and ongoing staff strikes related to pay and working conditions.
The museum has faced scrutiny from critics, including state auditors, who questioned why the Louvre spent so little on security and building upkeep while pouring money into new artwork acquisitions — only a quarter of which is accessible to the public — and costly post-pandemic revival projects.
