Gold worth $700,000 stolen in Paris National History Museum heist

Gold worth $700,000 was stolen from the Paris National History Museum, located in the 5th district of the French capital, on Tuesday, September 16.

Thieves used angle grinders and blow torches to enter the building from the river-side complex.

The museum’s press office told AFP that several specimens from the national collection held by the museum have been stolen.

It added, “Though the market value of the specimens stolen is 600,000 euros based on the price of raw gold, they carry immeasurable heritage value.”

This isn’t the first security failure of the museum as La Parisien newspaper quoted an unnamed police source revealing the museum’s surveillance and alarm system was disabled by a cyberattack in July, adding, “The thieves were seemingly aware of the vulnerability.”

The museum said that this is the latest in a series of robberies from cultural institutions.

Earlier this month, the Adrien Dubouche National Museum in Limoges in Central France reportedly suffered a break in and thieves stole treasures worth 9.5 million euros.

In November 2024, another museum in Paris named Cognacq-Jay saw intruders getting in using baseball bats in broad daylight and making off with 18th century works.