Louvre reopens Apollo Gallery nine months after crown jewels heist

The Louvre's Apollo gallery has reopened to the public for the first time since the brazen heist of the French crown jewels in October.

The world’s most-visited museum said the gallery is returning to its 17th-century original ceremonial purpose as the collections and precious jewels that it once displayed have been removed.

Culture Minister Catherine Pegard hailed the gallery's re-opening as the symbol of a new beginning for the museum after what she said had been a "trauma for the whole world", and she pledged to beef up security at museums nationwide.

The gallery, created under a young King Louis XIV, served as inspiration for the glittering Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. It was designed by architect Louis Le Vau and decorated by painter Charles Le Brun according to the theme of the sun, in honour of Louis XIV.

On the day of the heist, thieves took less than eight minutes to force their way through a window into the Apollo Gallery and steal crown jewels valued at 88 million euros.

Four people suspected of direct involvement in the heist have been charged and placed in custody.

The daylight robbery, among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory, exposed alarming security holes at the Paris landmark.

Security at the Paris museum has been boosted with the addition of new surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems.

Security is also a priority of the decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan unveiled by Emmanuel Macron in January 2025, with an estimated cost of up to 800 million euros to modernise infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.

The plan also includes a new entrance near the Seine River to ease pressure on I.M. Pei’s pyramid.

Earlier this year, the French government announced art historian Christophe Leribault, a veteran museum director, would take over from outgoing Louvre director Laurence des Cars, who had resigned.

Leribault had been running another world-renowned French landmark and tourist attraction, the Versailles Palace, overseeing an annual budget of about 170 million euros. The former palace for French royalty west of Paris was the venue for Olympic equestrian sports when Paris hosted the summer games in 2024.

Leribault is also a previous head of Paris’ Orsay Museum.

In a statement, the Culture Ministry highlighted “his extensive experience at the helm of major institutions” and said Leribault will prioritise strengthening the security and safety of the Louvre’s buildings, its collections and visitors and staff, and “restoring a climate of trust.”

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