The Director of the Louvre Museum, Laurence des Cars, has acknowledged that major blind spots in the museum’s surveillance system enabled thieves to execute Sunday’s audacious €88 million jewellery heist without detection.
Appearing before the French Senate committee on Wednesday, Des Cars admitted that the museum’s security apparatus failed to alert authorities in time to stop the criminals. “Despite our efforts and hard work every day, we were defeated,” she said, adding that the absence of external camera coverage left parts of the museum exposed.
According to her, the thieves used a crane to break through an upstairs window that was not monitored by CCTV before seizing historic French crown jewels and fleeing on motorbikes.
Des Cars revealed that she had previously raised alarms over the museum’s ageing security infrastructure, which has lagged behind modern surveillance standards. “The warnings I had been sounding came horribly true last Sunday,” she told lawmakers.
She also confirmed that she had offered her resignation to Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who refused to accept it.
The Louvre reopened to visitors on Wednesday, three days after the high-profile theft that shocked France and captured international attention.
