Jewellery Heist: Louvre Chief Blames CCTV Gaps

The director of the Louvre Museum admitted on Wednesday that the museum’s surveillance system failed to detect the robbers who stole some of France’s national treasures. The thieves carried out the heist by using a crane to reach an upper-floor window, which they smashed before entering the museum and stealing valuable jewels. The culprits remain at large, and the investigation is ongoing.

The heist took place on October 19, leaving people across France stunned. Laurence des Cars, the Louvre’s director, told senators that she had offered her resignation following the incident. However, Culture Minister Rachida Dati did not accept it, according to a Reuters report. “We did not detect the thieves’ arrival early enough,” Des Cars said, noting that there were too few cameras to properly monitor the museum grounds. She added that the window used by the robbers was not under CCTV surveillance, and the only exterior camera in that area had been positioned away from the balcony leading to the Gallery of Apollo, the key point of entry. Des Cars pledged to upgrade the CCTV system and establish a police station inside the museum.

During Wednesday’s hearing, senators questioned the museum’s security arrangements, asking why the camera had not been facing the correct direction. Because of this lapse, the lorry carrying the gang and their mechanical ladder, which allowed them to reach the first floor, went undetected. The museum, home to priceless works of art including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, reopened on Wednesday, though the Gallery of Apollo remains closed.