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The director of Paris’ iconic Louvre Museum is facing scrutiny over apparent security failures that allowed thieves to make off with more than $100 million worth of jewels.
In her first public address since the heist, Louvre Museum director Laurence des Cars acknowledged there was a “terrible failure” and said, “Despite our efforts, despite our hard work on a daily basis, we failed,” The Guardian reported.
Des Cars admitted that security around the Louvre’s perimeter was an issue and that the only camera monitoring the outside of the museum was facing away from the balcony that led to the gallery where the precious jewels were kept, according to reports. The Guardian also noted that des Cars confirmed all the museum’s alarms were functioning during the burglary.
LOUVRE HEIST ADDS TO HISTORY OF HIGH-PROFILE MUSEUM BREACHES, LEAVES OTHER GALLERIES ON EDGE
“We failed these jewels,” des Cars said, according to the BBC. The outlet also quoted the director as saying that no one is safe from “brutal thieves — not even the Louvre.”
On Sunday, burglars appeared to use a truck-mounted electric furniture lift to conduct the heist, Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said in an interview with RTL radio, according to The New York Times. She added that the thieves obtained the lift by pretending it was for a move. Additionally, Beccuau noted that it would not be easy for burglars to sell the stolen jewels for what they’re worth if they tear the pieces apart or melt them, according to the Times.
HOW LOUVRE BURGLARS OBTAINED TRUCK-MOUNTED LIFT TO MAKE OFF WITH JEWELS WORTH MORE THAN $100M
The thieves got away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. They also stole an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, and a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship — were also part of the loot.
“The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish, for it is our history,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an X post on Sunday. “We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor’s office.”
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The heist has prompted a national reckoning, with some officials comparing the shock to the 2019 burning of Notre Dame cathedral. Beccuau told RTL radio that the team investigating the heist had grown from 60 investigators to 100, underscoring the importance of the case on national and international levels.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.