France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati announced that anti-ramming and anti-intrusion barriers will be installed around the Louvre Museum by the end of the year. Her statement came after a daring daylight heist on October 19 reignited concerns over the museum’s security.
Four thieves parked a truck with a moving lift beneath one of the museum’s windows during opening hours. They used cutting tools to enter a first-floor gallery and stole jewellery worth around $102 million. The stolen pieces included a diamond-and-emerald necklace once gifted by Napoleon I to his wife, Empress Marie-Louise, and a diamond diadem that belonged to Empress Eugénie.
After reviewing a security report, Dati said the Louvre had long underestimated the risk of theft and intrusion. “We can’t continue like this,” she told TF1, adding that parts of the system were “completely obsolete.”
The Louvre’s director, Laurence des Cars, admitted that the cameras failed to cover the entry point properly, with one facing the wrong direction.
Police have arrested seven suspects, charging two with theft and criminal conspiracy, but the stolen jewellery remains missing. The French government aims to complete new security installations before the year’s end.
