Louvre Director Admits Security Lapses Amid €88 Million Heist

Thu Oct 23 2025 04:41:12 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre, revealed significant security failures allowing a gang to steal €88 million worth of French crown jewels, emphasizing the need for urgent updates to the museum's surveillance systems.

The director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, acknowledged grave deficiencies in the museum's security during a recent theft of French crown jewels worth €88 million. She stated that CCTV around the Louvre was outdated and ineffective, notably failing to capture the intrusion that went unnoticed prior to the theft. The museum aims to enhance its security measures significantly moving forward.

The Louvre failed to spot a gang of thieves early enough to stop the theft of €88m (£76m) worth of French crown jewels, the museum's director has revealed.

Laurence des Cars, speaking publicly for the first time since the heist on Sunday, told French senators that CCTV around the Louvre's perimeter was weak and aging.

The only camera monitoring the exterior wall of the Louvre where they broke in was pointing away from the first-floor balcony that led to Gallery of Apollo housing the jewels, she said.

We failed these jewels, she said, adding that no-one was protected from brutal criminals - not even the Louvre.

Ministers have given press conferences and interviews and denied security failings, but des Cars cut through that and admitted the Louvre had been defeated.

Her words gave an extraordinary insight into the difficulty of securing the world's most visited museum, and how bad its security really was.

The CCTV system outside the Louvre was very unsatisfactory she said and inside, some areas were simply too old to adapt to modern technologies.

Despite the museum's huge volume of visitors - 8.7 million last year alone - investment in security has been slow and she highlighted the budget challenges big institutions face.

Des Cars, who became director of the Louvre in 2021, said she wanted to double the number of CCTV cameras.

Some of the senators she faced at Wednesday's hearing expressed incredulity at the Louvre's security, asking why there was just one camera - on the external wall facing the river - and why it was pointing the wrong way.

That single failure meant that the lorry carrying the gang and their mechanical ladder, used to reach the gallery's first floor, was not spotted at all as it arrived at the foot of the Gallery of Apollo.

There is a weakness at the Louvre and I acknowledge it completely, des Cars told the senators.

She praised security guards who she said acted quickly to evacuate the building as soon as they were aware there had been an intrusion, but she conceded: We did not spot the arrival of the thieves early enough... the weakness of our perimeter protection is known.

The museum reopened on Wednesday, although the gallery remained shut.

A hunt is still under way for the gang of four who, over the space of less than 10 minutes last Sunday morning, broke into one of the world's most famous museums. They made off with eight prized pieces of jewellery including a diamond and emerald necklace Emperor Napoleon gave to his wife.

Initial assessments suggest that a delicate restoration is possible, des Cars said.

The director hopes that work to improve security will begin at the start of 2026.

Des Cars said she had tendered her resignation to the culture ministry after the heist but had been refused. She told senators she had been raising concerns about the state of the Louvre for some time.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told France's Europe1 radio on Wednesday that he had every confidence the thieves would be caught.