The Louvre Museum has closed this Monday for the second consecutive day while the four thieves who yesterday took eight jewels from Napoleon and the Empress's collection remain at large, leaving dozens of tourists at the door. The French police have launched an operation with a team of 60 investigators to track them down in one of the largest manhunts in recent French history.
"We have failed, and this event has given a terrible image of France," declared the Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, upon learning of the robbery, expressing astonishment that the four assailants were able to "park a moving platform in the center of Paris and steal several jewels of incalculable value in minutes."
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The Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, reported that the thieves attempted to set fire to the moving platform in their escape but were unsuccessful. They fled on Yamaha TMax scooters. According to Dati, the thieves used disc cutters to break the windows to access the museum and the protective showcases of the jewels and spent barely four minutes in the magnificent Apollo Gallery, where the jewels were displayed, before fleeing.
The lack of reinforcement on the windows and the fact that the alarm did not go off in the Apollo Gallery - although it did in the museum's security center - has exposed security gaps. According to a recent security audit revealed by France Info, the museum lacks cameras in some rooms and has "considerable and persistent" security problems.
The security audit conducted by the Court of Auditors reveals the "defective protection" of the over 33,000 works exhibited at the Louvre and the "persistent delay" in updating security systems. The report highlights that 75% of the Richelieu wing of the museum and 60% of the Sully wing are not protected by surveillance systems. The audit also emphasizes how the "operational implementation" of security device renovations "appears uneven and generally very limited." "The obsolescence cycle of the museum's technical equipment has accelerated more significantly than the pace of investment made by the institution to address it," concludes the report.
The President of the Louvre Museum, Laurence des Cars, ordered this security audit two years ago, and the results were to be presented in December and incorporated into the Louvre's New Renaissance project. A project announced by French President Emmanuel Macron last January.
The liberal leader, aware that the country's reputation is at stake, promised late on Sunday that the jewels will be recovered, and the thieves will be "brought to justice." The police believe that the next 24 to 48 hours are critical to recover the loot.
According to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau, the robbery was carried out by "an organized crime group," taking advantage of the works on the museum's facade facing the River Seine and as a result of prior reconnaissance work. Experts believe that the jewels may have been dismantled in the last few hours with the aim of taking the precious stones out of the country.
Interestingly, the showcase protecting the 140-carat Regent diamond, the most valuable piece in the collection, was not even touched by the assailants. During their assault between 9:30 and 9:40 on Sunday morning, when the museum had already opened its doors, the thieves dropped their most precious piece: Empress Eugenia's crown with 1,354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, which was found broken near the museum. Among the stolen jewels are a sapphire tiara and necklace belonging to Queens Maria Amelia and Hortensia, an emerald necklace and emerald earrings of Maria Louisa, as well as a tiara, a "reliquary" brooch, and a bodice bow of Empress Maria Eugenia.
"They did not steal a simple collection of jewels, but they have stolen from 68 million French people", declared Joachim Murat, a descendant of Napoleon, to Le Figaro. "This robbery is a shock on the scale of the Notre-Dame fire." Far-right leader Marine Le Pen described the Louvre robbery as "a humiliation for France."
"It has been very painful, and we are all frustrated and angry," acknowledged Nathalie Goulet, a member of the Senate's finance committee. "It is difficult to understand how it was so easy for them. We have to wait for the investigation to find out if the alarm was deactivated. We are facing an organized crime gang with no morals and with the sole aim of laundering money from the jewels."
The museum will remain closed to the public this Monday. This decision to close, confirmed by a museum spokesperson, was made at the last minute, after visitors had been able to enter from the pyramid entrance at 9:00 in the morning, the usual opening time, as reported by EFE.
Initially, the management did not offer a precise reason to justify this decision, beyond citing "exceptional reasons." Many tourists had been queuing since early morning at the pyramid entrance and saw their hopes dashed an hour after the opening.