The renowned Louvre Museum in Paris has once again welcomed visitors, reopening its doors for the first time since an audacious daylight robbery. This incident has placed significant pressure on French authorities to re-evaluate and enhance security protocols at the globally recognized cultural landmark.
During the heist, the perpetrators employed an electric ladder and specialized power tools to breach the Apollo Gallery. On Sunday, they successfully pilfered eight pieces of royal jewelry, estimated by French authorities to be valued at over $100 million.
The Apollo Gallery, located on the second floor and home to France’s historic crown jewels, remains inaccessible to the public.
This high-profile theft has sparked an intense debate, raising questions about whether the Louvre, a global magnet for tourists, possessed adequate security. Laurence des Cars, the museum’s director, who has maintained public silence since the event, is anticipated to face rigorous questioning during a Senate hearing later today.
More than a hundred investigators are now scrambling to apprehend the culprits. Art crime specialists caution that the stolen treasures might be dismantled, with individual precious stones and metals sold on the illicit black market.
Image: The Louvre, a beacon of France’s cultural influence, serves as a crucial soft-power asset for the nation.
Laurent Nuñez, France’s interior minister, expressed confidence in the ongoing investigation, stating, “I have every confidence in their ability to find the perpetrators despite the passing days.”
However, the government’s stance on accountability has been inconsistent. Gérald Darmanin, the justice minister, publicly acknowledged a failure, stating on French radio earlier this week, “we failed.”
Conversely, Culture Minister Rachida Dati maintained that the Louvre’s security measures were not deficient.
Before the French Senate on Wednesday, Ms. Dati asserted, “Did the Louvre Museum’s internal security measures work? Yes. Did the alarms work? Yes.”
Nevertheless, Ms. Dati confirmed that an internal investigation had been launched and that the museum was actively implementing new video surveillance and establishing additional security command centers.
A vast and intricate institution, the Louvre was once a royal palace before its transformation into a museum following the French Revolution. It currently showcases over 30,000 pieces from its extensive collection of 500,000 artworks across more than 400 distinct rooms.
Carole Chevallier, a 42-year-old artist and frequent visitor, described the museum as “my home.” Waiting to enter, where she was reproducing a 17th-century Dutch painting, she added, “I’ve been coming here for 15 or 20 years, ever since I was an art student.”
Among the first visitors after the reopening, some appeared unfazed by the recent robbery.
Raquel Morales, 29, visiting from Marbella, Spain, remarked, “I know that the French perspective is that of a national humiliation. But it’s a thing that can happen and you cannot control it.”
Nevertheless, others voiced dismay that such significant pieces of French heritage could disappear so swiftly—in under 10 minutes—and expressed their disappointment at the continued closure of the Apollo Gallery.
Karine Pivetta, 38, from southern France, stated, “I would have liked to see it. They are the jewelry of our history, of France’s history.”
Her son, Lucas, remained unconcerned, his primary interest being the iconic Mona Lisa. However, Emilie Sarran, 39, accompanying them, expressed her astonishment at the theft: “It is surprising that in a big museum like the Louvre they could do that.”
Image: Visitors capturing moments with paintings at the Louvre Museum after its reopening.
Ms. des Cars, appointed in 2021 as the museum’s first female president-director by President Emmanuel Macron, has yet to publicly comment on the incident. The robbery, however, has reignited concerns regarding insufficient surveillance cameras, the efficacy of the museum’s alarm systems, and the durability of the glass display cases which were breached with power tools.
Prior to the robbery, France’s national auditor, the Cour des Comptes, had initiated a report on the Louvre’s security and operational aspects. A confidential draft of this report, obtained by The New York Times, highlighted significant deficiencies, including inadequate video surveillance and substantial cuts and delays in security expenditures over recent years.
Furthermore, the draft report suggests that security spending in 2024 was considerably less than two decades prior.
Pierre Moscovici, head of the Cour des Comptes, announced that the comprehensive report would be publicly released in the coming weeks. He noted to RTL radio that the report “does not reveal anything that is unknown to the administration,” implying that French authorities were already cognizant of certain security weaknesses before the incident.
With an annual operating budget of approximately $300 million, a third of which comes from the French state, the Louvre drew nearly nine million visitors last year.
Beyond its status as a tourist magnet, the museum embodies France’s rich cultural prestige and acts as a vital soft-power tool for the French state. Now, this esteemed institution finds itself under intense scrutiny following the audacious attack.
Maud Bregeon, France’s government spokeswoman, addressed reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, stating, “I am not underestimating what our fellow citizens must have felt.” She urged calm, adding, “let’s keep our cool, let the investigation run its course, and then we can all draw our own conclusions.”
Image: The Apollo Gallery, scene of the theft, remained inaccessible to visitors after the Louvre’s reopening.