Louvre director admits ‘terrible failure’ in security after $100 million heist
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The director of Paris’ iconic Louvre Museum is facing scrutiny over apparent security flaws that allowed thieves to steal more than $100 million worth of jewels.
Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, acknowledged a “terrible failure” in his first public address since the robbery, saying, “Despite our efforts and daily hard work, we have failed.” The Guardian reported.
Des Cars admitted that security around the Louvre was an issue and that the only camera monitoring the outside of the museum looked at the balcony leading to the gallery where the precious jewels were stored. The Guardian also noted that des Cars confirmed that all of the museum’s alarms were working at the time of the burglary.
LOUVRE ROBBERY CONTRIBUTE TO THE HISTORY OF HIGH-PROFILE MUSEUM VIOLATIONS, LEAVING OTHER GALLERIES AT THE BORDER
Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, made his first public statement since the last jewel heist at a press conference in Paris, France, on October 22, 2025. (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
“We couldn’t achieve these jewels,” Des Cars said. BBC. The publication also quoted the director as saying he wasn’t safe from “ruthless thieves, not even the Louvre.”
On Sunday, thieves were seen using a truck-mounted electric furniture lift to carry out the robbery, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in an interview with RTL radio. New York Times. He added that the thieves took the elevator by pretending that it was for a move. Additionally, Beccuau noted that it would not be easy for thieves to sell stolen jewelry for their value if they disassembled or melted them down, according to the Times.
Police have secured the area outside the Louvre Museum in Paris, where thieves used a moving truck-mounted elevator to reach a second-floor window and steal crown jewels worth more than $100 million. (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
HOW DID THE LOUVRE THIEVES OBTAIN THE ELEVATOR MOUNTED ON THE TRUCK TO STEAL JEWELS WORTH MORE THAN 100 MILLION DOLLARS?
Thieves made off with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire tiara, necklace and single earring, from a set belonging to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. They also stole the emerald necklace and earrings and the reliquary brooch belonging to Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, Empress Marie-Louise. Empress Eugénie’s diamond tiara and large flower bow brooch (imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship) were also part of the loot.
French President Emmanuel Macron said, “The theft committed in the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we value, because this is our history.” x post Sunday. “We will undo the work, the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done everywhere under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor’s office to achieve this.”
Judicial police officers arrive at the Louvre Museum following a report of a robbery in Paris, France, on October 19, 2025. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)
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The robbery sparked a national reckoning, with some officials comparing the shock to the burning of Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019. Beccuau told RTL radio that the number of the team investigating the robbery increased from 60 to 100, underlining the importance of the case at the national and international level.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
