PARIS — It was the heist heard around the world. So naturally, it was only a matter of hours before it transitioned into memes seen around the internet.
Four masked thieves. Nine "priceless" pieces. All stolen in less than seven minutes, from the world's most famous museum. The Oct. 19 daylight robbery at the Louvre has already been compared to a Dan Brown novel or the latest installment in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's film franchise.
Now it's something else entirely — internet culture's newest obsession. From brands to influencers to actors with projects to promote (here's looking at you, George Clooney), the Louvre heist has become the latest template for going viral.
Authorities, meanwhile, are still looking for answers. French police say the investigation continues, with about 100 people working on the case. Investigators say they've collected more than 150 trace samples — including DNA and fingerprints left on gear abandoned at the scene — which are now being analyzed by forensic experts in Paris.
One twist came earlier this week when Empress Eugénie's diamond-and-gold encrusted crown — one of the stolen items — was found damaged near the scene, apparently dropped 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 euros), though France's interior ministry described the jewels as "priceless." France's culture minister called the theft a "humiliation." The museum's director admitted that the heist "was not inevitable," acknowledging the failure of its security.
The Louvre's protection systems are expected to face more scrutiny in the coming weeks, particularly as questions grow about the lack of security cameras in the museum's Apollo Gallery, where the robbery took place.
Turning crime into content
The thieves entered the second-floor gallery via a window using an electric lift — which they also used to scurry back down to ground level before jumping on scooters toward the nearest highway.
On Friday, Böcker, the German machinery company that made the lift entered the conversation, releasing a cheeky post featuring an ad across its social media pages. The ad features a photo of its ladder propped against the Louvre's façade with the caption, "If you're in a hurry, Böcker Agilo carries up to 400 kg of treasures at 42 m per minute — as quiet as a whisper."
It was part ad, part wink. Suddenly, the family-run company's longtime slogan "my way to the top" has gained new meaning.
They weren't alone. IKEA Switzerland posted its own tongue-in-cheek ad promoting a glass-dome display case. The caption read: "Won't protect your crown jewels either. But it will give them the right spotlight."
Others on TikTok and Instagram have turned the Louvre heist into a Halloween costume: think black jumpsuits, leather gloves, sleek sunglasses, and glittering imitation jewels.
"Heists are so back!" the fashion influencer @clothesfordinner declared
"How nice to read about a heist rather than a massacre"
Part of the fascination comes from the fantasy the story invites.
"How thrilling, upon hearing the news, to put oneself in the shoes of the thieves, and imagine making off with the diamonds scot-free," The Atlantic staff writer Caity Weaver wrote in a recent piece chronicling the public's obsession with the heist.
Or to put the obsession even more simply: "How nice to read about a heist rather than a massacre."
The stolen trinkets, Weaver writes, "have garnered far more attention now than they would have had they remained on view at the Louvre for 5,000 years."
Perhaps 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 Ocean's franchise — joked at a film premiere last week, "They seem to have done a pretty good job of getting away with it … I was very proud of those guys."
Asked whether the heist might inspire the upcoming Ocean's 14 film, Clooney quipped, "I think we should rob the Louvre."
And then there's the dapper man the internet has decided is on the case.
After the robbery, an Associated Press photographer captured a young looking well-dressed passerby near the Louvre's gates — coat, tie, and fedora — as police sealed off the museum.
Online, he was instantly dubbed "a more dashing version of the famed Inspector Clouseau" from the Pink Panther franchise, supposedly a suave detective investigating the theft.
The AP photographer, Thibault Camus, later said the man was simply walking past. "He appeared in front of me, I saw him, I took the photo," Camus says. "He passed by and left."
Still, the image took off, racking up millions of views and a flood of memes.
Even the Paris prosecutor's office seemed to play along. In an email to AP asking if the mystery man was a part of the official investigation, officials replied with a wink: "We'd rather keep the mystery alive ;)."
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