Camera surveillance not everywhere How security loopholes made the Louvre jewel theft possible
The Louvre was closed to visitors after the break-in.
Image: dpa
The police are still investigating the crime scene.
Image: dpa
The police are looking for traces of the fugitive perpetrators.
Image: dpa
The Louvre was closed to visitors after the break-in.
Image: dpa
The police are still investigating the crime scene.
Image: dpa
The police are looking for traces of the fugitive perpetrators.
Image: dpa
After the break-in at one of the most famous museums, many Parisians are asking themselves: how was such a coup possible in broad daylight? Apparently, many of the rooms don't even have camera surveillance.
21.10.2025, 12:42
dpa
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- Four masked criminals have stolen valuable historical jewels from the Louvre by breaking into the museum through a window using a lifting platform.
- The French Court of Auditors criticizes massive security deficiencies at the Louvre, including patchy video surveillance and insufficient investment.
- The museum management is under pressure, as a modernization plan for the security systems has been postponed for years and is only implemented during renovations.
Following the spectacular theft of historical jewels from the Louvre in Paris, the police are searching intensively for the perpetrators and the loot. While investigators continue to hope for a breakthrough, criticism of possible security flaws in the world-famous museum is increasing. Apparently, only very few of the exhibition rooms are under video surveillance.
France's Court of Audit has denounced "considerable delays in bringing the technical installations (at the Louvre) into line with current standards", according to an as yet unpublished report quoted by the LCI channel, among others.
"Due to the continued postponement of the master plan to modernize the security equipment, the installation of cameras is essentially only taking place as part of renovation work in the halls," says the report on the security equipment of the Louvre, which houses around 35,000 works of art over an area of 73,000 square meters.
Too little investment in security
According to the Court of Auditors, only a third of the exhibition halls have camera surveillance - and "the funds provided are low in relation to the estimated need". Yet "several recent incidents in which works of art were endangered have made the museum management aware that too little has been invested in recent years".
After the break-in on Sunday, the director of the Louvre explained that she had insisted on better security measures when she took over her post in 2021.
The sensational theft from the heart of the French cultural scene made headlines around the world. According to the public prosecutor's office, four masked perpetrators had parked a truck with a lifting platform next to the museum. While two of them waited on scooters on the street, the other two used the lift to get onto a balcony on the second floor and from there through a window into the museum.
The thieves broke open two display cases, took eight precious pieces of jewelry from former queens and empresses - including tiaras, necklaces, earrings and brooches encrusted with precious stones - and escaped with their loot.
The museum, known as a tourist magnet, remained closed on Sunday and Monday due to the investigation. It is not certain whether visitors will be able to enter the exhibition rooms again today.
