On the night of September 15 to 16, 2025, a robbery took place at the Natural History Museum in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. According to a police source, criminals managed to steal gold nuggets worth an estimated 600,000 euros.
At around 10am on Tuesday morning, the day the museum was closed to the public, a maintenance worker noticed that the precious pieces had disappeared from the geology and mineralogy gallery. The armoured display case protecting them had been attacked with a blowtorch, then smashed. On site, the investigators found the tool used, as well as a disc saw abandoned in a stairwell. A sawn-off emergency door also attests to the meticulousness of the operation.
This break-in comes just a few months after a cyber-attack that struck the Museum last July. At that time, video surveillance and alarm systems were hacked, forcing the museum to cancel its next exhibition.
On its official website, the museum simply announces the temporary closure of the gallery concerned.
An investigation has been launched to trace the perpetrators of this heist, which has undermined one of Paris's leading scientific and cultural centers.
Location
National Museum of Natural History
57 Rue Cuvier
75005 Paris 5
Official website
www.mnhn.fr
