A recent jewelry theft at the Louvre Museum in Paris has captured global attention, but not for the reasons investigators expected. The $88 million heist, which involved the theft of precious jewelry including a diadem worn by Empress Eugénie from the museum's Apollo Gallery, has spawned internet legends and viral stories that prove far more captivating than the mundane reality of the crime itself.
The most unexpected star of this story is Pedro Elías Garzon Delvaux, a 15-year-old French schoolboy who became an overnight internet sensation simply by being in the wrong place at the right time. Dressed in his signature vintage style – complete with waistcoat and fedora hat – Pedro was photographed by press photographers while walking near the Louvre with his mother and grandfather just hours after the theft occurred. The New York Times ran his image with the provocative headline: "Is This Dapper Man Going to Crack the Louvre Heist Case?"
Pedro, who describes himself as someone who likes to "experiment with various outfits from the 20th century," was delighted by the attention. A fan of Sherlock Holmes and the character Lamb from the "Slow Horses" series, he can be found in various vintage costumes on Instagram. "We didn't know about the heist and found out a few seconds before the picture was taken," he explained via email. His grandmother was a curator and former student of the École du Louvre, adding an ironic twist to his unwitting involvement in the story.
The teenager spent his school holidays enjoying what he called "the craziness" his photo inspired, particularly appreciating "the comic illustrations dedicated to this old-world detective and the AI movies inspired by the character everybody was imagining." Despite being mistaken for a middle-aged detective, Pedro has no ambitions in that direction, saying he would be "more interested in becoming a diplomat."
While Pedro captured hearts online, the real investigation was being conducted by a team of discrete detectives who used advanced DNA databases to analyze 150 forensic samples left at the crime scene. What initially appeared to be an audacious crime worthy of a Hollywood thriller has since been revealed as disappointingly ordinary. The theft was not the work of sophisticated international criminals operating from a master plan, but rather petty thieves so careless in their execution that they left behind crucial evidence in their hasty escape.
Four suspects have now been charged in connection with the case, but the internet refuses to let the glamorous version of events die. Widely circulated Facebook posts feature what users claim are mugshots of the perpetrators – photos so handsome they've been compared to movie stars. These images are not actually the men in question, but represent the internet's idealized casting of the crime. Social media users have joked about hanging these fictional portraits in the Louvre itself, with one commenting that if prison doesn't work out, the imaginary criminals "can always do the Louis Vuitton show."
The public's fascination with heist stories remains as strong as ever, from classic films like "Snatch" and "Inception" to "The Thomas Crown Affair" featuring Faye Dunaway. In a strange coincidence, just days after the Louvre incident, Kelly Reichardt's film "The Mastermind" was released, depicting an amateurish opportunist who steals artworks by simply walking into a museum and grabbing them off the walls. The parallel between fiction and reality seems almost too perfect to be coincidental.
The enduring appeal of heist narratives lies in their perfect blend of comic elements, eccentric characters, and breathtaking incompetence. As Derek Doneen, director of Netflix's 2021 documentary series "Heist," explained to the Guardian, audiences are drawn to these stories partly because they feature no fatalities, allowing viewers to root for the criminals without moral conflict. His colleague Martin Desmond Roe suggested that most people, when faced with "a room with $100 million in it and no guards," can't help but imagine how they would act.
Sherlock Holmes continues to loom large in popular culture, with his deerstalker hat remaining an iconic symbol of detection. Since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published Holmes's first case in 1887, the character has spawned countless adaptations, including the recent Netflix "Enola Holmes" series focusing on the detective's younger sister, with a third installment expected soon.
When the inevitable dramatization of the Louvre story reaches screens, the author hopes that facts won't interfere with good storytelling. As she concludes, the ideal casting would feature Pedro as the lead detective – "a 15-year-old schoolboy in a tie and waistcoat who solves major crimes while doing his prep." In a world where reality often disappoints, sometimes the internet's version of events proves far more entertaining than the truth.
