Louvre theft puts pressure on French government over museum security
The French government is facing increasing pressure concerning museum security as police continue to search for the thieves who took seven minutes to steal priceless jewels from the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum.
“What is certain is that we have failed, since people were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of Paris, get people up it in several minutes to grab priceless jewels, and give France a terrible image,” the justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, told France Inter radio on Monday.
Police were trying to determine what level of organized criminals were involved in the highly professional raid, he said. A team of 60 investigators is working on the theory that the raid was planned and executed by an organized crime group.
A gang of four thieves used the hoist to access an outside window in full daylight when the museum was open to visitors on Sunday morning.
The men used a truck with an extendable ladder like those used by furniture movers to reach the Apollon gallery, the gilded room that houses the royal collection and crown jewels. They used cutting equipment to get in through a window and open the display cases, taking jewels from two cases in the ornate gallery, which is one of the most-visited rooms in the museum. Some were dressed in high-visibility jackets like builders.
The masked thieves stole nine 19th-century items of jewelry, one of which – the crown of the Empress Eugénie – they dropped and damaged as they made their escape. It is covered in 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.
Darmanin said questions could be raised about why the museum’s windows were not secured. Speaking on CNews, the culture minister, Rachida Dati, said the thieves had attempted to set fire to the furniture hoist but failed, leaving evidence behind as they fled.
The far right called the theft “a humiliation” for France. “How far will the disintegration of the state go?” said the National Rally party leader, Jordan Bardella, on social media, calling the heist “an unbearable humiliation for our country.”
After several other robberies from French museums in recent months, the interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, acknowledged that securing museums was a “major weak spot.”
The president, Emmanuel Macron, stated on social media that everything was being done to catch the perpetrators and recover the stolen treasures.
The culture ministry said security alarms had gone off when the cases were opened and museum security guards immediately enacted the security protocol. The thieves fled, leaving behind some of their equipment.
The museum remained closed on Monday.
As questions arose over whether enough had been done to secure it, trade unions stated that, in general, not enough investment was being made into staffing and security at French cultural venues.
“The collections aren’t safe, the visitors aren’t safe, and the staff aren’t either,” Yvan Navarro, co-secretary general of the culture branch of the left-wing CGT union, told France Info. He stated that cuts over recent years meant there was a lack of security staffing for French culture and heritage.
France Inter radio obtained a state auditor report due to be published next month, which criticized “considerable” and “persistent” delays in updating equipment at the Louvre and warned that security cameras were lacking in many rooms.
France Inter reported that when the Louvre director, Laurence des Cars, took over in 2021, she had asked the Paris police for a security audit. The current project for a major overhaul of the Louvre includes heightened security measures.
Politics Editor
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