A gang of thieves carried out a daring heist in the early hours of Thursday, September 4th, at the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges, France, making off with three porcelain masterpieces valued at around €9.5 million ($11 million).
Police said the burglary occurred around 3:15 a.m., when the suspects entered through a window, triggering the museum’s alarm system. According to a source close to the investigation, the thieves headed straight for the historical gallery, ignoring thousands of other works on display.
Their target: two Chinese porcelain dishes from the 14th and 15th centuries and an 18th-century vase, all designated as “national treasures.” Within minutes, the pieces were gone, before police arrived.
“The security system worked, but it may need to be reviewed,” admitted Limoges mayor Emile Roger Lombertie. He suggested the heist showed signs of an organized operation rather than a random burglary. “It is likely that collectors are giving orders to steal these items and are turning to high-level criminals,” he said.
Prosecutor Emilie Abrantes confirmed that an investigation has been launched into “aggravated theft of cultural property exhibited in a French museum, committed in a group and with damage to property.”
The Limoges burglary adds to growing concerns over the security of France’s cultural institutions. In November 2024, masked assailants armed with axes and bats stormed Paris’s Cognacq-Jay Museum in broad daylight, smashing display cases before fleeing with valuable snuffboxes. Less than 24 hours later, armed robbers struck the Hieron Museum in eastern France, escaping with jewelry worth several million euros.
