logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2025
26m 32s

The Louvre daytime heist that shocked th...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed for 2 days as the police investigated a brazen heist which resulted in the theft of France's “priceless” crown jewels. Thieves wielding power tools broke into the world's most visited museum in broad daylight, before escaping on scooters with eight items of jewelry of great historical significance.

Erin Thompson, Professor of Art Crime at The City University of New York, tells us about the crime that has stunned France - and the rest of the world.

Producers: Viv Jones, Aron Keller, Valerio Esposito and Cat Farnsworth

Executive producer: Annie Brown

Mix: Travis Evans

Senior news editor: China Collins

Image: A security employee near the glass Pyramid of the Louvre Museum, Paris. Benoît Tessier/Reuters

Up next
Oct 9
What’s really happening with plague in Russia?
A plague scare in Siberia has become a Rorschach test for public health fears in a post-Covid world.Russian officials are investigating the death of a worker at a plague research laboratory. They say she died of pneumonia. But speculation online has suggested she may have died fr ... Show More
26m 37s
Oct 8
Why French teenagers are fighting for their education
What began as a revolt over public school funding has spilled into a much bigger fight over the future of France.Now, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets, and clashes with police have left teenagers and officers injured. More than 6,000 people have been arre ... Show More
26m 22s
Oct 7
The warnings before 7 October
Israel is marking three years since the 7 October attacks, in which around 1,200 people were killed by Hamas-led attackers and a further 251 hostages were taken back to Gaza. The commemorations come in the final weeks of a pivotal election campaign. Benjamin Netanyahu’s record on ... Show More
27m 5s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2025
Le Heist
<p>In just under 10 minutes on Sunday, thieves stole precious jewelry from the Louvre Museum in Paris after using a truck-mounted ladder to break into a second-floor window.</p><p>Catherine Porter, a New York Times international correspondent in the French capital, explains how t ... Show More
27m 42s
Oct 2025
“DEFINITELY An Inside Job!” The Louvre Heist With Michael Franzese, Jewel Thief & More
The audacious heist at The Louvre has captured the world’s imagination after four men in construction vests pulled up in a stolen furniture truck in broad daylight and used an extending ladder to break in and raid display cases with disc cutters, taking off with France’s priceles ... Show More
42m 53s
Oct 2025
How thieves pulled off the heist of the decade - The Sunday Story
It's been described as the 'crime of the decade'. In just seven minutes, masked thieves stole the French crown jewels in broad daylight, from the most visited museum in the world: the Louvre. How did they pull off their audacious plan and will they get away with it? This podcast ... Show More
30m 27s
Oct 2025
Historic jewels stolen from Louvre
Historic jewels, worth millions of euros have been stolen from the Louvre museum in Paris. Hear about this story and learn some vocabulary from the headlines with Pippa and Phil.Find full subtitles and a worksheet for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english ... Show More
8m 30s
Oct 2025
Violence Flares in Gaza, and White House Responds to Protests: ‘Who Cares?’
tail spinning
10m 19s
Aug 2024
The major jewellery heist that shocked Germany
Nearly five years, after millions of euros’ worth of jewellery was stolen in a museum heist in Germany many of the pieces have returned to display this week. Others with a value of hundreds of thousands of euro remain lost. We get all the details with Thomas Sparrow International ... Show More
11m 2s
Dec 2022
Let’s Steal the Mona Lisa!
Mayhem, chaos and international hijinks ensue after three Italian brothers, led by their super-patriotic older brother, break into the Louvre and steal the Mona Lisa for the glory of Italia. The frantic French police search high and low for the stolen masterpiece, they even drag ... Show More
52m 34s