The members of the Holmesien Circle of Paris, Laurence Deloision, dressed as Arsène Lupine (left), and Thierry Gilibert, dressed as Sherlock Holmes, stage the robbery on Saturday next to the façade and the window through which the thieves entered the Louvre last Sunday.
Tomás Padilla/AP
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Tomás Padilla/AP
PARIS- It was the robbery that was heard around the world. So naturally, it was only a matter of hours before it became memes seen all over the internet.
Four masked thieves. Nine “priceless” pieces. All stolen in less than seven minutes, from the most famous museum in the world. The October 19 robbery at the Louvre has already been compared to a Dan Brown novel or to the latest installment of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s. film franchise.
Now it’s something else entirely: the new obsession of Internet culture. From brands to influencers to actors with projects to promote (here’s looking at you, George Clooney), the Louvre heist has become the latest model for going viral.
Meanwhile, authorities continue to search for answers. French police say the investigation is continuing and about 100 people are working on the case. Investigators say they have collected more than 150 trace samples, including DNA and fingerprints left on equipment abandoned at the site, which are now being analyzed by forensic experts in Paris.
A twist came earlier this week when Empress Eugenie’s gold and diamond-encrusted crown, one of the stolen items, was found damaged near the scene, apparently fallen or abandoned during the thieves’ escape.
Eight other jewels, all relics of France’s imperial history, remain missing. The estimated value of the items is $102 million (€88 million), although the French Interior Ministry called the jewelry “priceless.” France’s culture minister called the theft a “humiliation.” The museum director admitted that the robbery “was not inevitable”, acknowledging the failure of his security.
The Louvre’s security systems are expected to face increased scrutiny in the coming weeks, particularly as questions grow about the lack of security cameras in the museum’s Apollo Gallery, where the theft took place.
Turn crime into content
The thieves entered the second floor gallery through a window using an electric lift, which they also used to descend to ground level before hopping on scooters towards the nearest motorway.
Police officers work next to a lifting basket used by thieves on Sunday, October 19, 2025, at the Louvre museum in Paris.
Thibault Camus/AP
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Thibault Camus/AP
On Friday, Böcker, the German machinery company that manufactured the elevator, entered the conversation and published a bold post with an advertisement on its social media pages. The ad shows a photo of its ladder leaning against the Louvre façade with the caption: “If you’re in a hurry, Böcker Agilo transports up to 400 kg of treasures at 42 m per minute, as quiet as a whisper.”
It was part advertisement and part wink. Suddenly, the family business’s old slogan “my way to the top” has taken on a new meaning.
They were not alone. IKEA Switzerland ran its own tongue-in-cheek ad promoting a glass-domed display case. The caption reads: “It won’t protect your crown jewels either. But it will give them proper care.”
Others on TikTok and Instagram have turned the Louvre heist into a Halloween costume: think black jumpsuits, leather gloves, stylish sunglasses, and shiny faux jewelry.
“The robberies are back!” declared fashion influencer @clothesfordinner
“How nice to read about a robbery instead of a massacre”
Part of the fascination comes from the fantasy the story invites.
“How exciting, upon hearing the news, to put yourself in the shoes of the thieves and imagine taking the diamonds with impunity.” The Atlantic Writer Caity Weaver wrote in a recent article chronicling the public’s obsession with the heist.
Or to express the obsession even more simply: “How “It is better to read about a robbery than about a massacre.”
The stolen trinkets, Weaver writes, “have attracted much more attention now than if they had remained on display in the Louvre for 5,000 years.”
George Clooney arrives at the AFI Fest premiere of the film “Jay Kelly” on Thursday, October 23, 2025 at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles.
Chris Pizzello/Invision via AP
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Chris Pizzello/Invision via AP
Maybe she’s onto something. And perhaps that’s why Hollywood, for its part, couldn’t resist the moment either.
George Clooney, who plays master thief Danny Ocean in the from the ocean franchise – joked at a movie premiere last week: “Looks like they’ve done a good job of getting away with it… I was really proud of those guys.”
When asked if the heist could inspire the next Ocean 14 In the film, Clooney joked, “I think we should rob the Louvre.”
And then there’s the handsome man the Internet has decided is on the case.
After the robbery, an Associated Press photographer captured a young, well-dressed passerby near the Louvre doors (coat, tie and fedora) as police closed the museum.
Online, he was instantly dubbed “a more dashing version of the famous Inspector Clouseau” from the Pink Panther franchise, supposedly a confident detective investigating the robbery.
Police officers block access to the Louvre museum after a robbery on Sunday, October 19, 2025 in Paris.
Thibault Camus/AP
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Thibault Camus/AP
AP photographer Thibault Camus later said the man was simply walking by. “It appeared in front of me, I saw it, I took the photo,” Camus says. “He passed and left.”
Still, the image took off, racking up millions of views and an avalanche of memes.
Even the Paris prosecutor’s office seemed to play along. In an email to the AP asking if the mystery man was part of the official investigation, officials responded with a wink: “We’d rather keep the mystery alive ;)”