The Louvre Museum reopened its Apollo Gallery on Wednesday, nine months after a robbery in which French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million were stolen, exposing security shortcomings at the world’s most-visited museum.
While visitors can once again admire the gallery’s richly decorated 17th-century interiors, the crown jewels and other precious gems are no longer on display there. Instead, they have been relocated to secure areas elsewhere in the museum.
“I am pleased that we are reopening the Apollo Gallery, which has been closed since Oct. 19,” Louvre director Christophe Leribault said. “This iconic space will no longer display the crown jewels and precious gems, as they have been relocated to secure areas elsewhere in the museum. Even so, this is an opportunity for visitors to rediscover the gallery’s remarkable architecture and decoration."
Asked when the collection could return to public display, Leribault said additional security measures would be required.
“As for the crown jewels, we will need to create highly secure exhibition spaces before they can be displayed again. That will take some time before we are able to present them to the public,” he said.
Created during the reign of Louis XIV, the Apollo Gallery is one of the Louvre’s best-known historic spaces. Designed by architect Louis Le Vau and decorated by painter Charles Le Brun around the theme of the sun in tribute to the French king, it later inspired the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.
French Culture Minister Catherine Pegard described the reopening as " the symbol of a new beginning" after what she called a " trauma for the whole world." She also pledged to strengthen security measures at museums across France.
The robbery took place in October 2025, when two men used a movers’ lift parked outside the museum in broad daylight to reach a second-floor window. They smashed the window, used angle grinders to break into display cases and escaped on scooters driven by two accomplices. The operation lasted less than seven minutes.
Four suspects have since been charged and placed in custody. Most of the stolen jewels remain missing, although the crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, was recovered near the museum in a damaged condition and is currently undergoing restoration.
The heist prompted wider scrutiny of the Louvre’s security and management. In February, then-director Laurence des Cars resigned after facing criticism over the robbery and staff strikes linked to pay and working conditions.
The museum has also come under criticism from France’s Court of Auditors, which questioned its spending priorities, saying the Louvre had invested heavily in artwork acquisitions and high-profile projects while spending comparatively less on security, maintenance and infrastructure.
