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\n Members of the Paris Holmes Society (Cercle Holmesien de Paris), Laurence Deloision, dressed like Ars\u00e8ne Lupin (left), and Thierry Gilibert, dressed like Sherlock Holmes, on Saturday stage the theft by the facade and the window where thieves entered the Louvre last Sunday.<\/p>\n
Thomas Padilla\/AP<\/p>\n
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Thomas Padilla\/AP<\/p>\n
PARIS \u2014 It was the heist heard around the world. So naturally, it was only a matter of hours before it transitioned into memes seen around the internet.<\/p>\n
Four masked thieves. Nine “priceless” pieces. All stolen in less than seven minutes<\/a>, from the world’s most famous museum. The Oct. 19 daylight robbery at the Louvre has already been compared to a Dan Brown novel or the latest installment in Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s film franchise.<\/p>\n Now it’s something else entirely \u2014 internet culture’s newest obsession. From brands to influencers to actors with projects to promote (here’s looking at you, George Clooney), the Louvre heist has become the latest template for going viral.<\/p>\n Authorities, meanwhile, are still looking for answers. French police say the investigation continues, with about 100 people working on the case. Investigators say they’ve collected more than 150 trace samples \u2014 including DNA and fingerprints left<\/a> on gear abandoned at the scene \u2014 which are now being analyzed by forensic experts in Paris.<\/p>\n One twist came earlier this week when Empress Eug\u00e9nie’s diamond-and-gold encrusted crown \u2014 one of the stolen items \u2014 was found damaged near the scene, apparently dropped or abandoned during the thieves’ escape.<\/p>\n Eight other jewels \u2014 all relics of France’s imperial history \u2014 remain missing. The estimated value of the items is $102 million (88 million euros), though France’s interior ministry described the jewels as “priceless.” France’s culture minister called the theft a “humiliation.” The museum’s director admitted that the heist “was not inevitable,” acknowledging the failure of its security.<\/p>\n The Louvre’s protection systems are expected to face more scrutiny in the coming weeks, particularly as questions grow about the lack of security cameras in the museum’s Apollo Gallery, where the robbery took place.<\/p>\n Turning crime into content <\/p>\n The thieves entered the second-floor gallery via a window using an electric lift \u2014 which they also used to scurry back down to ground level before jumping on scooters toward the nearest highway.<\/p>\n \n Police officers work by a basket lift used by thieves Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 at the Louvre museum in Paris.<\/p>\n Thibault Camus\/AP<\/p>\n hide caption\n <\/p>\n toggle caption<\/p>\n Thibault Camus\/AP<\/p>\n On Friday, B\u00f6cker, the German machinery company that made the lift entered the conversation, releasing a cheeky post<\/a> featuring an ad across its social media pages. The ad features a photo of its ladder propped against the Louvre’s fa\u00e7ade with the caption, “If you’re in a hurry, B\u00f6cker Agilo carries up to 400 kg of treasures at 42 m per minute \u2014 as quiet as a whisper.”<\/p>\n It was part ad, part wink. Suddenly, the family-run company’s longtime slogan “my way to the top” has gained new meaning.<\/p>\n They weren’t alone. IKEA Switzerland posted its own tongue-in-cheek ad<\/a> promoting a glass-dome display case. The caption read: “Won’t protect your crown jewels either. But it will give them the right spotlight.”<\/p>\n Others on TikTok and Instagram have turned the Louvre heist into a Halloween costume<\/a>: think black jumpsuits, leather gloves, sleek sunglasses, and glittering imitation jewels.<\/p>\n “Heists are so back!” the fashion influencer @clothesfordinner<\/a> declared<\/p>\n “How nice to read about a heist rather than a massacre” <\/p>\n Part of the fascination comes from the fantasy the story invites.<\/p>\n “How thrilling, upon hearing the news, to put oneself in the shoes of the thieves, and imagine making off with the diamonds scot-free,” The Atlantic staff writer Caity Weaver wrote in a recent piece<\/a> chronicling the public’s obsession with the heist.<\/p>\n Or to put the obsession even more simply: “How nice to read about a heist rather than a massacre.”<\/p>\n The stolen trinkets, Weaver writes, “have garnered far more attention now than they would have had they remained on view at the Louvre for 5,000 years.”<\/p>\n \n George Clooney arrives at the AFI Fest premiere of the film “Jay Kelly” on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Chris Pizzello\/Invision via AP<\/p>\n hide caption\n <\/p>\n toggle caption<\/p>\n Chris Pizzello\/Invision via AP<\/p>\n Perhaps she’s onto something. And perhaps that’s why Hollywood, for its part, couldn’t resist the moment, either.<\/p>\n George Clooney \u2014 who plays master thief Danny Ocean in the Ocean’s franchise \u2014 joked at a film premiere<\/a> last week, “They seem to have done a pretty good job of getting away with it \u2026 I was very proud of those guys.”<\/p>\n Asked whether the heist might inspire the upcoming Ocean’s 14 film<\/a>, Clooney quipped, “I think we should rob the Louvre.”<\/p>\n And then there’s the dapper man the internet has decided is on the case.<\/p>\n![\""Daily](\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3281x3281+857+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc8%2F38%2F6c6eb4d14702a2998c212eaff32d%2Fgettyimages-487952483.jpg\")
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