In a shocking revelation, Laurence des Cars, the director of the Louvre Museum, has admitted that the institution’s security systems were inadequate to prevent the theft of French crown jewels valued at €88 million (£76 million). Speaking publicly for the first time since the heist on Sunday, des Cars addressed French senators, highlighting the museum’s aging and insufficient CCTV infrastructure. The only camera monitoring the exterior wall where the thieves entered was misaligned, failing to capture the first-floor balcony that led to the Gallery of Apollo, where the jewels were housed. ‘We failed these jewels,’ des Cars lamented, emphasizing that even the Louvre was not immune to ‘brutal criminals.’
The heist, carried out by a gang of four in less than 10 minutes last Sunday morning, saw the thieves make off with eight priceless pieces of jewelry, including a diamond and emerald necklace gifted by Emperor Napoleon to his wife. During their escape, they dropped a 19th-century diamond-studded crown belonging to Empress Eugenie, which was later recovered but damaged. Des Cars noted that the crown had likely been crushed as the thieves forcibly removed it from its display case. While initial assessments suggest a delicate restoration is possible, the incident has exposed significant vulnerabilities in the museum’s security.
The thieves used a truck equipped with a mechanical ladder to access the first-floor gallery at 09:30 (07:30 GMT), just half an hour after the museum opened. Des Cars praised the security guards for their swift evacuation of the building but conceded that the museum’s perimeter protection was weak and outdated. The Louvre reopened on Wednesday, though the Gallery of Apollo remains closed.
Des Cars, who became director in 2021, revealed that she had been warning about the museum’s deteriorating infrastructure and cuts to surveillance and security staff over the past decade. She expressed her intention to double the number of CCTV cameras and begin security upgrades in early 2026, though the aging infrastructure of the former royal palace poses significant challenges. Following the heist, des Cars tendered her resignation to the culture ministry but was refused. ‘I am wounded as chair and director that the warnings I was raising, as a whistle-blower, have come to pass,’ she said, taking full responsibility for the museum’s failure.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez expressed confidence that the thieves would be apprehended, with prosecutors theorizing that the robbery was orchestrated by a criminal organization. The incident has raised questions about the security of one of the world’s most renowned cultural institutions, home to priceless works such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.