By Pierre Meilhan, Catherine Nicholls, and Hilary Whiteman, CNN
Three police officers in front of the Louvre Museum. Photo: QUENTIN DE GROEVE
No security cameras were monitoring the second-floor balcony where thieves gained access to the Louvre to steal historic jewels worth over US$100 million, the museum's director told a French Senate committee hearing.
Laurence des Cars told senators Wednesday that the eastern balcony of the Apollo Gallery, where robbers broke into the building on Sunday using an angle grinder, was not covered by the museum's ageing camera system.
"Unfortunately, on the Apollo Gallery side, the only camera installed faces west and therefore does not cover the balcony affected by the break-in," des Cars told the hearing, as French investigators raced to recover the stolen jewels.
Photo: AFP / Bertrand Guay
Four days after the heist, investigators are yet to publicly identify any suspects as experts warned the jewels were likely to be dismantled for their raw materials, destroying artefacts dating back to the Napoleonic era.
The ease with which thieves gained access to the building - during opening hours via a truck-mounted ladder - has shocked the nation and raised questions about the vulnerability of the country's museums to criminals deploying new tactics.
Des Cars told the hearing that the "absolutely obsolete, even absent, technical infrastructure" to monitor the country's most valuable treasures was a "terrible observation" for the world's largest museum. She said she'd offered her resignation to Culture Minister Rachida Dati after the robbery, but it was rejected.
Des Cars, who took the role in 2021, said the museum's weakness lies in the lack of perimeter protection, which she said was a result of "chronic underinvestment in equipment and infrastructure".
The Louvre's last major renovation was in the 1980s under former French President François Mitterrand, who commissioned Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei to design an entrance befitting the historic venue.
The glass pyramid that now forms the entrance to the museum opened to the public in 1989, putting a modern face on a storied institution known for its exhibition of the world's finest art.
Des Cars said that renovation project may have created an illusion of momentum behind the museum being fully modernised. However, she said: "This major modernisation project is now 40 years old, with facilities that have outperformed and are at the end of their tether."
How it happened
The heist unfolded at 9:30am on Sunday when robbers parked a truck with a mobile ladder outside the gallery. At 9:34am they triggered an alarm on the second-floor door, which sent a signal to a security post.
A security officer inside the auditorium radioed to report an intrusion and staff began evacuating members of the public. Alarms on two high-security display cases were triggered as the thieves cut holes in the glass to grab the jewels. At 9:36am police were called. A minute later, a message was broadcast requesting that the doors be closed. By 9.38am the thieves had left the building.
Surveillance teams outside the museum prevented the suspects from setting their vehicle alight but could not prevent their escape on scooters along the banks of the Seine. A law enforcement official said investigators combed the truck for any traces of DNA. One of the two scooters had been retrieved as well as a helmet worn by one of the suspects, the official added.
Des Cars said Wednesday the security system inside the Apollo Gallery "worked perfectly" - but that it was designed several years ago to protect against the greatest risks of that time. For example, the high-security display cases that housed the jewels were designed to withstand bullets.
"At the time, this was the dominant modus operandi for this type of attack, for precious objects, jewellery, attacks in jewellery stores," des Cars said. "That's what the Louvre is protecting itself against."
She said what's needed now is to adapt the system to a "new type of attack, to new operating methods that had not been envisaged".
The theft had "profoundly shocked" the museum's staff, French citizens and "all those who love the Louvre," des Cars said.
She suggested measures that could be put in place to enhance the museum's security, such as fortifying the outer edges of the Louvre and prohibiting cars from parking in the vicinity. Des Cars said she's also considering whether it would be possible to install a police station inside the museum.
-CNN
