Historical events don’t happen every day, but the reaction to the Louvre robbery has been something unseen– romanticization. 

On October 19, 2025, the Louvre, a famous Paris museum, housing the world’s most iconic pieces, like the Mona Lisa, was robbed of eight jewels and over 88 million euros. The jewels were stolen from the area of the Louvre called “Galerie d’Apollon” (Apollo’s Gallery). 

The robbers were disguised as construction workers, and even weirder, the heist was carried out in plain daylight. It was performed in eight minutes, four of which were spent in the actual museum itself. Their escape was supposedly made on scooters. Funny, outlandish details like this are the reason why this story has caught on so quickly on TikTok. 

The idea of an art heist has been incredibly idealised amongst young people on TikTok. They’ve been making 10-minute playlists, supposed to be recreating the entire heist and escape. Some songs on these playlists include “Robbers” by the 1975, “Getaway Car” by Taylor Swift, and, most aptly, “The Louvre” by Lorde. 

People have been creating different outfits for “what I’d wear as a Louvre heist detective”, imagining scenarios the robbers carried out. Some lean more heavily into jokes, with “my day at Louvre”, editing the stolen jewels into pictures. 

Some have even created “head cannons” for the robbers, fictional characters they imagine would carry out the heist, with different personalities, nationalities, and “roles” in the heist. 

There has been speculation about the actual robbers as well. Mugshots of two admittedly attractive men have circulated online, claiming that these are the robbers. This has since been proven false, though. 

Supposedly, two of the robbers were a married couple, and both have been caught. Still, two of the four robbers remain uncaught, although DNA evidence was found. 

The response on TikTok has been mainly associating this story with cinema tropes, with movies like “Oceans 11” or “National Treasure” being heavy inspiration for these head cannons. 

This reaction overall shows how much Gen Z idealizes real-life scenarios with movie tropes. Maybe we’re yearning for an escape. Maybe we have active imaginations. One thing seems clear, though, that Gen Z will not stop living through historical events. 

What’s on your 10-minute heist playlist?