Seven minutes, four thieves, one museum.

On October 19th, the famous Louvre museum in Paris, France was robbed in broad daylight. 

This isn’t the first time the Louvre has been the target of a heist; in 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre and went missing for two years. It was found after the thief tried to sell the Mona Lisa to an art dealer. 

Now, over 100 years later, we are examining a very well-planned heist that successfully stole 19th-century French royal jewelry. 

“I was like, oh, no, yet again, because what happens is it’s not the first one,” Amélie Ollivier says.

Amélie Ollivier is a French professor here at Oregon State University, who grew up in France for many years before moving to America. 

Ollivier explains that there have been multiple robberies across France. The Louvre is not the first robbery France has experienced in recent months. 

“One in, I believe, the Museum of Natural History, I think a big gold nugget was stolen,” Ollivier says.

If there have been so many robberies in France over the past couple of months, why is the Louvre getting all the attention on social media worldwide?

“They focus on the Louvre because everybody knows the Louvre,” Ollivier says. 

The Louvre is France’s most popular museum, attracting 30,000 visitors from around the world each day.  It makes sense that the media would focus on this topic rather than the other robberies that have occurred around France. 

However, another point Ollivier discussed was the fantasy of this heist and the fascinating nature of it.

Many people have “romanticised” this heist all over social media.

Is this just some silly trend to people, or are the funny comments about this heist affecting France and the Louvre’s reputation? 

Jamie Livingstone says, “Yes, it’s affecting the Louvres’ reputation.”

Jamie Livingstone is a third-year student at Oregon State University and the Vice President of the Art History Club here on campus.

Most people have not been taking this heist very seriously. Even the company that makes the poli (pully) system the thieves used to get into the Louvre came out with a funny advertisement, “when you need to move fast.” 

Paige Rhoden is a fourth-year student at Oregon State University and the President of the Art History Club. 

“I think their main motivation is obviously just money,” Rhoden says. 

Rhoden draws attention to the value of the Louvre’s collection and the shock over how something so significant could have just been taken, as well as why jewelry, rather than paintings, was targeted. 

“How would the Louvre even let this happen, like, it’s the most well-known museum” Livingstone says. 

Daniele Di Lodovico is an art history professor here at Oregon State University. 

Art History Professor Daniele Di Lodovico says, “It takes a lot of money to keep them open.”

Di Lodovio brings attention to the fact that the Louvre might have to take drastic measures to keep its artifacts from being stolen, by potentially needing to get them in a safe away from the public.

Di Lodovico shares concerns about the museum and the public’s ability to access precious pieces of history and culture following the heist incident.

“It’s important for people to access it,” Di Lodovico says.