The Louvre robbery was inevitable – the museum has not had sufficient funding to provide adequate security for decades, writes Politico.
„The Louvre fiasco was inevitable. A team of thieves achieved in minutes what museum employees had been trying to do for years – to reveal the fragility of the symbol of France due to decades of underfunding“, the publication states.
Politico recalls that in February the general manager of the Louvre reported to a parliamentary session about the “poor, sometimes dilapidated condition“ of the museum's infrastructure, saying that updating it and improving security measures are "absolutely necessary."
“My colleagues and I have been talking for months about how surprising it is that nothing critical has happened yet,” Alice Muller, a curator and union activist at the Louvre, told the publication.
Politico reviewed parts of the Court of Auditors report that highlighted “persistent” delays in updating security equipment, such as cameras - a third of the rooms in the wing where the robbery took place had none at all.
On October 19, thieves broke into the Louvre and stole nine pieces of jewelry, including tiaras, earrings, necklaces and brooches belonging to French queens and empresses. One of them, the damaged crown of Empress Eugenie de Montijo, was found and returned to the museum. Damage from the robbery is estimated at 88 million euros.
The Louvre's security guards prevented the thieves from stealing everything they wanted, a museum security official said on Friday, who asked not to be named.
On October 19, thieves broke into the museum and stole nine pieces of jewelry, including tiaras, earrings, necklaces and brooches belonging to French queens and empresses. One of them, the damaged crown of Empress Eugenie de Montijo, was found and returned to the museum. Damage from the robbery is estimated at 88 million euros.
A security guard noted that during the robbery - during the morning rush hour, when the museum is most crowded - all security guards were at their posts.
“We were alerted by a loud and unusual noise... the staff headed for the source of the noise before realising it was a window. But when we got to the gallery, the thieves were already inside,“ she added.
According to a museum official, when it became clear that this was a serious robbery, security guards immediately began evacuating visitors to avoid casualties. At that point, additional security guards joined them, forcing the thieves to flee before they could open another display case. During their escape, the thieves were forced to abandon some of the stolen items.
French law enforcement officials have collected more than 150 DNA samples, fingerprints and other evidence from the scene of the Louvre robbery. The samples were collected directly from the crime scene, as well as from items left by the thieves, such as a helmet, vest, gloves and an angle grinder.
The results of the examination are expected in the coming days, which will allow them to determine whether law enforcement has information about the thieves in their database.