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Louvre Reopens Apollo Gallery Without Missing Crown Jewels

This signals a stepped‑up security drive with surviving royal pieces slated for a future windowless maximum‑security room.

Overview

  • The Musée du Louvre reopened the Galerie d'Apollon to visitors on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, but removed the Crown jewels and other high‑value objects from display to highlight the gallery's murals.
  • The eight Crown jewels stolen in the October 19, 2025 heist remain missing despite the detention of four suspects who used motorcycles and a lifting platform to breach a window and seize the pieces in about seven minutes.
  • Immediate security fixes implemented since the theft include a metal grille over the breached window, expanded perimeter cameras, a mobile police post inside the museum, and the appointment of Olivier Goupil as security coordinator.
  • The Louvre says surviving royal pieces will be moved only when a new windowless, maximum‑security room is finished and that the damaged crown of Empress Eugénie is being restored by specialists.
  • The robbery exposed long‑known access weaknesses, triggered staff protests and leadership change to Christophe Leribault, and has accelerated security and conservation elements of the multi‑year Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance modernization plan.