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Conspiracy theorists are claiming that the audacious £76million Louvre heist may have been faked - with wild speculation that the world's most famous museum was never actually burgled.
A gang posing as construction workers stormed the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon last Friday, escaping in under eight minutes with eight pieces of the French crown Jewels.
The thieves used a hoist to access a side window before smashing reinforced glass cases and vanishing into the Paris streets.
Tourists were ushered out as alarms echoed through the marble halls in what officials have described as one of the boldest art thefts in recent memory. The daylight raid stunned museum staff and triggered an international investigation.
But now a series of wild claims are sweeping Reddit, TikTok and X suggesting the heist was not a crime at all.
One of the far-fetched theories proposes it was in fact a carefully staged stunt for the upcoming film Now You See Me 3.
The theory exploded after Lionsgate's official TikTok account posted a cryptic video days after the break-in, with fans insisting it contained hidden references to Paris and stage magic.
Another viral clip, uploaded by user @phooxo, splices the supposed heist footage with scenes from earlier Now You See Me films, highlighting near-identical camera angles and the thieves' precision timing.
Together, the clips have racked up millions of views and fuelled speculation that the burglary was an elaborate movie marketing trick.
One X user wrote: 'A conspiracy theory i can get behind is that the louvre staged the heist themselves as an elaborate marketing stunt because honestly how does this even happen anymore.'
Others online have pointed to the uncanny cinematic quality of the operation - the perfectly timed lift, the clean escape, even the choice of target - saying the whole thing felt 'more Hollywood than heist.'
Some claim that posters showing illusionist imagery appeared near the Louvre in the days before the raid, while archived social-media posts from Lionsgate hinting at a 'big reveal in Paris' have since been re-examined as possible clues.
However, the studio has since weighed in, denying any involvement.
In a follow-up TikTok posted from its official account, Lionsgate wrote: 'We love the theory - but the Louvre heist isn't one of ours.'
The brief statement has done little to calm speculation, with many online commentators dismissing it as part of the marketing ploy itself.
Not everyone, however, believes Hollywood is to blame.
A competing theory suggests the jewels were stolen to order for a wealthy private collector, with the precision of the operation reflecting professional planning rather than performance.
French prosecutors have acknowledged they are investigating whether the crime was commissioned - but have refused to rule out 'inside assistance'.
Further out on the fringe, others have tied the incident to long-running conspiracies surrounding the Louvre itself - including the debunked claim that the museum's glass pyramid was built with 666 panes, a number linked to occult symbolism.
On TikTok and Reddit, amateur investigators have filled comments sections with theories ranging from from secret societies to government cover-ups, each claiming to have cracked the mystery.
Some have even speculated that the burglary was staged to hide damage to the jewels or to divert attention from deeper scandals within France's cultural institutions.
One person even suggested the heist was a 'Russian plot to send a message to Macron'.
But, for now, the Louvre insists the heist was real and police say they are following 'credible international leads'.
Footage captured the brazen thieves escaping down a ladder before fleeing on scooters.
A video shows two thieves coming down a large ladder in a mechanical delivery basket parked by the famous museum in the heart of Paris.
One was wearing a hi-vis jacket, the other appeared to be in an all-black get-up.
At least one other person was seen at the bottom of the ladder. The men are not threatened by anybody as security guards express their intense frustration.
'The individuals are on scooters – they are about to leave,' says one, as police sirens can be heard in the background.
'Blast! Try the police. They've gone!,' can also be heard, along with swear words.
Though the investigation into the major theft is ongoing, some details of their escape have begun to emerge.
At 9.30am on October 19, the four thieves targeted the under-construction wing of the 232-year-old museum.
Once their getaway drivers pulled up on scooters, the men began their seven-minute raid – propping their ladder up against the museum's wall, scurrying to the top and using an angle grinder to pierce through the window.
They also managed to evade the camera that monitored the room that was pointing completely in the wrong direction.
Inside, they threatened unarmed guards and visitors before breaking into two display cabinets and looting nine prized items, estimated to be worth up to £76million.
The two thieves then fled via the same window, climbing down the ladder and then hopping onto the back of their accomplices' scooters below.
It came after the museum's director admitted that security cameras did not cover the window thieves used to break-in and steal uninsured jewellery.
Speaking for the first time since last Sunday's heist at the world's most popular art museum, Laurence des Cars, 59, offered her resignation for the embarrassing failure which allowed the four masked raiders inside the Paris landmark.
She said: 'The only camera installed is directed westward and therefore did not cover the balcony involved in the break-in. There are some perimeter cameras, but they are ageing.
'Despite our efforts, despite our hard work every day, we were defeated. We did not detect the thieves' arrival early enough.'
Ms Des Cars was grilled by senators on Wednesday, and they particularly wanted to know how a flatbed truck with an extendable ladder had been able to park in the wrong direction on the pavement directly outside the Louvre.
It made a U-turn on a three-lane one-way street by the Seine, and was used by the gang to get up to the first floor of the museum.
They spent just seven minutes carrying out the raid, which included breaking open two cabinets containing eight pieces of Napoleonic jewellery described as 'France's crown jewels'.
The pieces were not insured because of the massive cost of premiums, Ms Des Cars explained.
Ms Des Cars said the thieves had put bollards on the pavement, and wore hi viz yellow and orange jackets and balaclavas during the 9.20am heist.
'As soon as they broke a window and entered the museum, the alarm systems went off and the security protocol was followed,' she said.
Private security guards who heard the alerts on their radio system ran to the van and managed to prevent the thieves setting fire to it before they fled.
This helped save valuable evidence, included a gloves and a helmet, as well as the vehicle itself, but the men disappeared on two Yamaha motorbikes.
Ms De Cars said she had handed her resignation in to Rachida Dati, the Culture Minister, but it was refused.
She said 'security plans' had included 'video surveillance covering all facades' and 'the installation of fixed thermal cameras' but these plans had not been implemented in time.
This was because they required extensive work on the electricity supply, including 40 miles worth of new cables.
Ms Des Cars said she had repeatedly warned that the centuries-old building's security was in a dire state, saying: 'The warnings I had been sounding came horribly true last Sunday.'
She pledged to set up no-parking perimeters around the Louvre, upgrade the CCTV network, and ask the Interior Ministry to set up a police station inside the museum.
Today it emerged that a second French museum was raided just hours after the heist.
Roughly 2,000 gold and silver coins – some dating back 235 years – have been stolen from the Maison des Lumières museum in Langres.
Staff discovered the theft on Tuesday morning when they arrived at work to find a display case smashed.
Further investigations showed the burglary had actually taken place on Sunday – the same day as the heist at the Louvre.