The director of the Louvre Museum, Laurence des Cars, has revealed that significant blind spots in the museum’s security camera system allowed thieves to carry out Sunday’s daring €88 million jewellery heist undetected.
Speaking before a French Senate committee on Wednesday, Des Cars admitted that the world-famous Paris museum’s security system failed to detect the intruders in time. “Despite our efforts, despite our hard work every day, we were defeated,” she said, adding that the lack of external camera coverage made the museum vulnerable.
According to Des Cars, the thieves used a crane to smash an upstairs window that was not monitored by CCTV before stealing historic French crown jewels and escaping on motorbikes. She noted that she had long warned of the need for urgent upgrades to the ageing security infrastructure, which has struggled to meet modern surveillance standards.
“The warnings I had been sounding came horribly true last Sunday,” she told lawmakers, confirming that she had offered her resignation to Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who declined to accept it.
The museum reopened to visitors on Wednesday, three days after the brazen heist that stunned France and drew global headlines.
Melissa Enoch
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