The Louvre heist took seven minutes

Question

On Sunday, October 19, four thieves broke into the Louvre in broad daylight and stole $102 million worth in jewels. Here's the kicker, it took only seven minutes to complete. Researchers are trying to figure out how such a guarded and secure museum was broken into in such a small span of time in the middle of the day. https://abcnews.go.com/International/thieves-robbed-louvre-minutes-minute-minute-breakdown-daring/story?id=126719610

Answer 1

This claim is considered to be true. 

CNN https://www.cnn.com/world/europe/timeline-louvre-robbery-intl-latam-vis

BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7nrlkg0zxo

According to CNN and the BBC, the perpetrator arrived at the Louvre Museum at 9:30 AM using a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift, then stole the jewels, and fled at 9:38 AM on two prepared scooters. Therefore, it could be said that the robbery took about 7-8 minutes. 

However, the same articles state that the actual time spent inside the museum was 4 minutes. At 9:34, the thieves got their hands on the jewels. Due to differing definitions of what constitutes the duration of the robbery, it is conceivable that some individuals would argue the time was 4 minutes, not 7.

ABC https://abcnews.go.com/US/paris-prosecutor-deeply-regrets-disclosing-arrests-louvre-jewel/story?id=126907943

Incidentally, this article was published 8 hours ago and is the ABC News piece used for this fact-check topic. Even within this article, it states that the time taken for the robbery was 7 minutes.

Answer 2

In Time Magazines article covering the Louvre heist, it states that the entire affair took under four minutes. However, in AP's article on the heist, it says that it took under eight minutes in total, and the thieves were in the museum for four minutes. Overall, I think it's hard to say how long the heist took -- what do we define as the beginning and end of it? -- but it was for sure a very short amount of time.

Sources

Time Magazine

AP

Answer 3

When it comes to the Louvre heist, opinions on the exact time it took the thieves differ. However, while browsing articles, the statement that the heist was a 4-minute long event was mentioned by multiple sources. BBC noted "French police say the thieves were inside for four minutes and made their escape on two scooters waiting outside at 09:38." The article by Time Magazine says that "Investigators say the thieves entered and exited the museum in under four minutes." Finally, PBS states that politician and culture minister Rachida Dati claims that the heist was a 4-minute operation.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7nrlkg0zxo

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-to-know-about-the-louvre-heist-investigation-after-2-arrests

https://time.com/7326868/louvre-robbery-museum-crown-jewels/

Answer 4

Yes, this claim is mostly true that the Louvre heist took around 7 minutes. I fact checked this claim with the New York Times, CNN, and NBC news who had all published articles confirming the seven minute heist. According to the timeline published by ABC News, the thieves entered the museum at 9:34 and made their escape by 9:38, so you could argue that the heist really took around 4 minutes, depending on if you count the thieves' arrival at the Louvre at 9:30 part of the heist as well. If you count their arrival at 9:30, then the heist would have lasted around 7-8 minutes. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/europe/paris-louvre-museum-heist-thieves-took-7-minutes-steal-crown-jewels-rcna238596

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/26/europe/louvre-robbery-france-arrests-intl

Answer 5

This is somewhat true. The total time it took the thieves was just under 8 minutes but depending on what one considers as the start and the end of the heist it could be considered less. If you count only the time spent inside the museum it took four minutes.

Sources:

CNN

PBS

ABC

Wikipedia