Late on a Tuesday evening, a daring and meticulously calculated crime sent shockwaves through the French capital: thieves broke into the National Natural History Museum in Paris and made off with gold samples worth about €600,000 (roughly $700,000) in raw value.
Officials report that the stolen items included specimens of native gold, along with rare and unrefined pieces of gold mixed with silver, known as electrum.
The gold was lifted from the museum’s geology and mineralogy gallery. Among the loot is a striking gold-and-quartz nugget from California’s Donatia mine, measuring roughly 9 by 8.5 cm, which was donated by a wealthy collector.
What’s particularly alarming is the thieves’ professionalism. They didn’t smash in randomly, instead employing heavy tools like an angle grinder and a blowtorch.
The thieves precisely targeted specific display cases protected by armored glass, and had clearly mapped out high-value targets in advance.
The museum director, Emmanuel Skoulios, stated that the perpetrators were “fully aware of where they needed to go.”
Security concerns are now at the forefront. The museum’s alarm and surveillance systems are under intense scrutiny.
Some sources indicate that a cyberattack in July may have compromised those systems, though it’s not yet confirmed if it played a direct role in this theft.
France has been experiencing a spate of similar thefts lately. Museums and institutions that once felt secure in preserving national heritage are now being exposed as increasingly vulnerable.
This raid adds to a series of recent high-profile lootings: priceless porcelain stolen in Limoges, smashed display cases in other Paris museums, and jewelry snatched in broad daylight.
Public outrage is building as citizens question whether the state is still capable of protecting France’s cultural heritage, which truly belongs to its people.
If criminals can target gold in such revered institutions using professional tools and apparent inside knowledge, then what else remains unprotected?
Meanwhile, the National Natural History Museum has temporarily closed its mineralogy gallery while conducting a thorough inventory to determine if anything else might be missing.
As heists gradually become the norm due to an erosion of security and oversight, it is not just monetary losses afflicting France, but profound damage to national pride and identity.
