Investigations by authorities remain fruitless so far regarding the theft at the Louvre museum in France, as the robbers who managed to steal jewelry worth 88 million euros last Sunday remain at large. The museum’s president and director, Laurence des Cars, in her first statements after the incident, acknowledged that there are serious deficiencies in the museum’s security measures, emphasizing to French senators that the closed-circuit television systems around the Louvre are weak and “outdated.”
“The only camera monitoring the exterior wall of the Louvre that they breached was turned away from the first-floor balcony that led to the Apollo Gallery where the jewelry was housed,” she noted. “We disappointed these jewels,” she also mentioned, adding that no one was protected from the “brutal criminals – not even the Louvre.”
Louvre: The CCTV security camera network around the museum is inadequate
Several ministers have given press conferences, dismissing any allegations of weaknesses in security measures. However, des Cars ignored these statements and admitted that the Louvre had been “defeated.” As she reported, the CCTV security camera network around the museum is inadequate, while inside the museum, in certain areas, the systems are so old they cannot keep up with modern technologies.
Des Cars, who became director of the Louvre in 2021, stated that she wanted to double the number of CCTV cameras. She also mentioned that she had been warned about how “antiquated” the equipment at the Louvre was when she took the position, in contrast to the modern equipment at the Musée d’Orsay, where she had previously worked.
Some senators who participated in Wednesday’s hearing expressed doubts about the adequacy of the Louvre’s security measures. They questioned why there was only one camera on the exterior wall facing the river and why it was pointed in the wrong direction. Due to this single malfunction, the truck that transported the gang as well as the ladder used to climb to the first-floor balcony were not recorded at all.
Louvre: “The weakness of our perimeter protection is known”
“There is a weakness at the Louvre and I fully acknowledge it,” des Cars told the senators. She praised, however, the security guards, who, she said, acted quickly to evacuate the building as soon as they realized there had been a break-in, but admitted: “We didn’t detect the arrival of the thieves early enough… the weakness of our perimeter protection is known.”
The museum reopened on Wednesday, although the gallery remained closed. The director hopes that work to improve security will begin in early 2026. However, this is expected to be difficult, given the outdated infrastructure of the building that was once a royal palace.
Des Cars said she submitted her resignation to the Ministry of Culture after the robbery, but her request was rejected. “I am wounded as president and director that the warnings I made, as an informant, in a sense, were confirmed last Sunday,” she also noted and concluded: “We had a terrible failure at the Louvre. I have taken responsibility for it.”
