The thieves took jewelry worth about 4 million euros from the Lalique Museum in northeastern France, despite the site being said to be receiving "special attention" after a bold break-in at the Louvre last year.
The break-in occurred at about 5:30 am on July 6 at a museum in Wingen-sur-Moder, a village in Bas-Rhin province near the German border. Many masked subjects broke down the door and smashed six display cabinets before escaping with about 20 jewelry items.
Damage is still being assessed, but a source close to the investigation told AFP that the loss could be "nearly four million euros". The stolen items were made of crystal and did not contain gemstones.
Mayor Wingen-sur-Moder said that the thieves may have been "fully informed" when they targeted the jewelry store. The regional mayor said "all alarms were activated correctly", but accused the security company of not immediately reporting to the gendarmerie. Local media reported that a sanitation worker present at the scene was the first to call the authorities.
The robbery occurred less than a year after thieves stole eight jewelry items belonging to the French crown from the Louvre Museum in Paris in October 2025, in a brazen daytime robbery worth about 88 million euros. A few hours after the Louvre robbery, nearly 2,000 precious coins were believed to have been stolen from the Enlightenment House Denis Diderot in Langres town in northeastern France. Just a month earlier, thieves broke into the French National Museum of Natural History and stole six rare gold bars worth about 1.5 million euros.
The incidents have caused a national-level museum security scandal. Le Parisien reported that the Lalique Museum is considered a "sensitive location" and has received "special attention" since the Louvre theft, but a source close to the investigation said the protection measures are "insufficient".
A survey by the French Parliament released in May discovered profound loopholes in the country's museum security model, including aging infrastructure, lack of personnel and inadequate supervision. The report said that only 23% of French museums have emergency plans and risk prevention in 2024, while only 54% of facilities have appropriate video surveillance systems.
The Lalique Museum, opened in 2011, is dedicated to honoring jewelry artisan and glassworker Rene Lalique and his successors. The museum displays more than 650 works, from Art Nouveau and Art Deco jewelry to modern crystal works. The museum said it will close for a few days after the theft, citing the need to prepare for a "peaceful and safe" reopening.
