Louvre director blames aging security system for brazen $102M jewelry heist

The Louvre’s outdated security system failed to detect robbers in time to prevent a daytime heist of eight French crown jewels worth millions, the museum’s director said on Oct. 22.

The group of burglars broke into the world’s most-visited museum on Sunday, Oct. 19, using simple cutting tools and a truck-mounted powered ladder to gain access to the Paris museum. They stole eight pieces of “priceless” jewelry worth an estimated $102 million before escaping on motorbikes, French officials said.

News of the brazen robbery shocked the world and sparked criticism over the museum’s lapses in security. Some French officials have called the incident a national humiliation.

Laurence des Cars, the Louvre’s president and director, testified about the heist before the French Senate’s Culture, Education and Sport Committee on Oct. 22. Des Cars told French senators that she had tendered her resignation following the incident but was refused by Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who has also come under scrutiny over the robbery.

“We did not detect the thieves’ arrival early enough,” des Car said during the two-hour hearing, in which French senators questioned her on the museum’s “aging” and weak security system.

Des Cars acknowledged that the Louvre’s cameras had failed to spot the burglars and that there were not enough cameras outside monitoring the museum’s perimeter. She added that the exterior security cameras do not provide full coverage of the museum’s facade and that the window the burglars broke through was not monitored by CCTV.

Louvre director previously warned about the museum’s antiquated security system

Earlier this year, the museum requested assistance from the French government to restore and renovate its aging exhibition halls and better protect its countless works of art.

In a letter to Dati, des Cars pointed to several issues at the museum, including water leaks and “worrying temperature swings which endanger the conservation of works of art.” Des Cars also wrote that museum visits were a “physical ordeal,” with visitors having trouble finding artworks due to inadequate signage, lack of space for people to take a break, and insufficient sanitary facilities.In January, French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a 10-year plan to fix the cultural institution’s outdated infrastructure and ease congestion for visitors.

During the Oct. 22 hearing, des Cars said she had repeatedly warned that the centuries-old building was in a dire state. “The warnings I had been sounding came horribly true last Sunday,” she told French senators.

Des Cars promised to create no-parking perimeters in areas around the museum, upgrade the security camera system, and ask the interior ministry to establish a police station inside the museum.

The heist, which occurred with visitors inside 30 minutes after the museum opened, also prompted security checks of cultural sites across France. Paris is home to multiple world-famous cultural institutions, including the Louvre and other museums such as the Orsay, Pompidou, and Quai Branly.

USA TODAY and Reuters previously reported that at least four French museums have been robbed over the last two months, including Paris’ Museum of Natural History. French prosecutors said they had charged a Chinese-born woman for stealing six gold nuggets worth about $1.75 million from the Museum of Natural History in Paris. She was arrested in Barcelona while trying to dispose of some melted gold, according to prosecutors.

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How did robbers break into the Louvre?

The heist occurred at around 9:30 a.m. local time on Oct. 19 as visitors flooded into the museum, French officials said. Four suspects drove a truck with a powered extendable ladder and stopped on a road near the Seine River on the Louvre’s south side.

They then extended the ladder to a second-floor balcony of the museum, and two suspects climbed to the balcony while the other two remained with the truck, according to officials. They used power tools to break through a window leading to the gilded Gallery of Apollo, home to the French Crown Jewels.

Once inside, officials said they smashed glass display cases and snatched pieces of historic jewelry as the alarms sounded and the museum staff evacuated panicked tourists, officials said. The robbery took place about 270 yards from the painting of the Mona Lisa.

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The two suspects then descended the ladder and all four escaped on two motorbikes, according to officials. Investigators believe three to four experienced thieves were involved in the heist.

“We saw some footage: they don’t target people, they enter calmly in four minutes, smash display cases, take their loot, and leave. No violence, very professional,” Dati told a local news outlet on Oct. 19.

Officials said the robbers had attempted to steal nine pieces from the collection but dropped one piece as they escaped. A diamond and emerald-covered gold crown owned by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III, was found on the ground outside the museum. The crown sustained damage but was recovered, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau previously said.

Following the incident, the museum was closed for the rest of the day on Oct. 19 and remained closed through Oct. 21. The Louvre reopened to visitors on Oct. 22.

What items were stolen from the Louvre?

Eight items were taken, some from matching sets, museum officials said:

• A sapphire tiara: Once owned by 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense.

• A sapphire necklace: From the Marie-Amélie and Hortense collection.

• A single sapphire earring: One of a pair from the Marie-Amélie and Hortense collection.

• An emerald necklace: Worn by Empress Marie-Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.

• A pair of emerald earrings: Matching the necklace from Marie-Louise’s collection.

• A tiara: Worn by Empress Eugénie, the wife of Napoleon III.

• A large bodice-knot brooch: Also known as the Corsage Bow Brooch, from Empress Eugénie’s collection.

• A reliquary brooch: A brooch designed to display a historic relic.

Contributing: Karissa Waddick, N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Janet Loehrke, and George Petras, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Louvre director blames security camera gaps for brazen jewelry heist