French museums can’t seem to catch a break.
Between Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, the Musée du Président Jacques Chirac in the central French town of Sarran was robbed for the third time in less than a year, a French public prosecutor told local media outlet Ici Limousin. Thieves reportedly broke a window, allowing them to enter the museum via the front door, and authorities were alerted by an alarm system around 4 a.m. Though no details were given about what was stolen or their estimated value, the small museum houses some 5,000 diplomatic gifts, such as paintings, medals, and jewelry given to the former French president, along with other French leaders.
In 2011, the Chirac museum was robbed of a diamond-encrusted, golden falcon that had been offered to Chirac by Saudi Arabia, estimated to be worth some €150,000 ($173,000). It was never found, and it was just the beginning of the museum’s troubles. On October 12, 2025, armed and masked thieves broke into the museum and made off with cash from the register and at least one watch. Four suspects were quickly arrested in that case. Shockingly, only a day or so later, on the night of October 13, 2025, the very same museum was robbed again, this time of several watches and jewelry, estimated to be worth over €1 million. Following those incidents, the museum reinforced its security systems this past spring, notably with the installation of more cameras.
The October break-ins at the museum happened less than a week before the Louvre was robbed of the country’s crown jewels on October 19th, in a brazen heist that led to the eventual ousting of Louvre president Laurence des Cars. It also forced the French Ministry of Culture into belated action. In July, after a string of headline-making museum thefts, the ministry announced the implementation of a national museum and monument security plan, while recognizing a worrisome pattern of “new modes of operation” being used to strike the country’s museums and monuments.
Founded in 2000 in the rural Corrèze department of the Limousin region in central France, where Chirac built his political career, the Musée du Président Jacques Chirac includes objects given to the former president during his two terms, from 1995 to 2007. In 2024, it added a new “Presidential Gallery” displaying about 40 gifts to other French presidents, from Charles de Gaulle to current leader Emmanuel Macron. Displayed items include an “honorary” necklace from Nepal, bronze panther statues from Benin, and an ornately carved alabaster box from India.
At the time of writing, the museum website states that it is temporarily closed and asks for visitors’ understanding.
