Thieves Steal $700,000 Worth Of Native Gold From Paris Museum
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
Alignment
In the early hours of September 16, 2025, thieves launched a daring heist on the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France. They made off with native gold specimens worth about $700,000 from the museum’s geology and mineralogy gallery.
Native gold is much rarer than the gold found in jewelry. Most jewelry gold comes from ore and must be refined, but native gold occurs naturally in metallic form. Each piece is unique, with its own shape and crystal structure. Besides being valuable, these nuggets are important to science. Researchers study them to understand Earth’s history and how its rocks and minerals formed.
Museum officials say the theft was carefully planned. They believe the thieves disabled the museum’s alarm and security systems. This allowed them to enter without being seen. They then used a blowtorch and an angle grinder to break into the display cases.
“We are dealing with an extremely professional team, perfectly aware of where they needed to go and with professional equipment," said museum director Emmanuel Skoulios. "It is absolutely not by chance that they went for these specific items."
Since the theft, the affected gallery has been closed to the public. The museum has also added extra security to prevent future break-ins.
This heist is the latest in a series of museum thefts in France. In early September 2025, three Chinese porcelain works classified as "national treasures" were stolen from a museum in Limoges. They were valued at about $9.5 million. Late in 2024, armed thieves used axes to smash display cases at the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris. They stole several 18th-century luxury items, including a diamond encrusted box. As of October 2, 2025, no arrests have been made in any of these cases.
Resources: Smithsonian.org, theguardian.com, NBCnews.com
Get the Workbook for this article!
Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
54 Comments
luckycharm10129 daysThey should really get more security. Also I'm wondering how they stole it since even if it's the early hours SOMEONE would have seen it right? So I'm gonna give a theory here. I've read a lot of Arsene Lupin and here's how he would've done it. He would have sent on guy to be a museum worker. Maybe a lot of guys. Anyway, the spy will tell him where his spot is and probs distract the other guards so the team can get in. Same when going out, except maybe the spy guy probably had some of the load too. Then after the heist is over, they can get the gold. Easy. Or maybe the boss guy WAS the museum guard. Then it would be pretty easy to get in without triggering the security systems, and since he's the museum worker, nobody would suspect him. Pretty easy. These are just theories, NOT real, but some things that COULD happen. Who knows? Could be true, could be false. But just in case, best to investigate the museum workers too...
ohhhyeah5 daysI honestly agree
ilovehenrydsaf27 daysMaybe it could've been! But what if they only hire people without a criminal record? That would mean they have to either send newbies or people hiding their real identity. Buut, your theory could very well be true. :)- luckycharm10116 daysYes, well. A lot of crimminals hide their identities. I mean, you can't just present your real identity and say you're Arsene Lupin if you're Arsene Lupin, right? Probably they hid their identities or just threatened a harmless worker to distract the other guards "or else".
star-girl3 monthsYeah this was unfortunate. They should get better security and it is not as good as old security but overall, I don't think it's their fault because those scenes were powerful and yeah.- ilovehenrydsaf3 monthsWhew. That's a lot of gold, isn't it..
lyvykesy-1760326028493 monthsWhy did they even steal the gold- ilovehenrydsaf3 monthsTo sell it.
dog884 monthsThe 21st century and they still can steal stuff from the Louve? Did they not learn last time this happened.- ilovehenrydsaf3 monthsSeriously. Stealing stuff from the louve? In the big 2025? Come on.
mjw08094 months#better security. Who is with me?
negypyfewane4 monthsI think this s connected to "Thieves Strike The Louvre Museum In Bold Daylight Heist".- ilovehenrydsaf3 monthsEehh, it's not the best to assume. The only evidence supporting it is that both heists happened in france.
- podabokajado4 monthsI a g r e e
supersonic10a4 monthsI wonder if there going to sell all of it on a black market
imflamey3 monthsThey can’t because they would see that it was the native gold from the museum
- hyjizogi-1756215852254 monthsI am very impressed they are very smart yet still it is bad to do that because they could've hurt many people.
buckbeakfan4 monthsThey need more security! # SECURITY #
