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France Probes Linked Museum Thefts After Louvre Crown Recovered Damaged

Investigators are pursuing leads from viral escape footage following the Langres coin theft.

Overview

  • The 'Corona di Eugénie' stolen on October 19 was recovered damaged, and Louvre director Laurence des Cars says restoration is delicate but possible, with the trove’s economic value reported around €88 million.
  • Witness video shows two suspects in worker gear using a freight elevator at the Seine side of the Louvre before fleeing on scooters, with radio chatter captured during the getaway.
  • Within hours, the Museum of Langres discovered about 2,000 coins missing—a hoard documented in 2011 as 1,633 silver and 319 gold pieces—valued at roughly €90,000.
  • Authorities are assessing whether the Louvre and Langres heists fit a pattern of 'clean' museum robberies, citing a September theft of gold nuggets from Paris’s Natural History Museum and a related arrest in Barcelona.
  • Investigators are exploring a possible link to the Pink Panthers jewel‑theft network, though no attribution has been confirmed and most stolen items remain unrecovered.