The Louvre reopens to the public after spectacular $93 million royal jewellery heist
The most visited museum in the world is open to the public again. The Louvre, three days after the theft of royal jewels valued at €88 million, is attempting to restore its image by reopening its doors.
The Louvre Museum in Paris reopened its gates on Wednesday morning, 22 October, three days after brazen thieves stole invaluable historical royal jewels from the Galerie d’Apollon. The spectacular robbery, which occurred on Sunday in just seven minutes, has caused shock in France and worldwide.
Reuters footage this morning showed visitors once again passing through the museum’s gates, amidst an atmosphere of contained relief but also concern. According to an announcement from the management of the iconic museum, “some rooms remain temporarily inaccessible,” without specifying exactly which ones.
The Director is Accountable to the Senate
The Director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, is expected to appear before the cultural committee of the French Senate on Wednesday afternoon. The hearing comes amidst growing political pressure and questions regarding whether sufficient security measures were in place at the world’s most famous museum.
Des Cars, who took over the direction of the Louvre in 2021, has made no public statement since Sunday morning, when four perpetrators allegedly broke into the museum using a van with an extended ladder. With the help of cutting equipment, they breached a window of the Galerie d’Apollon and smashed the display cases that housed the 19th-century French Crown Jewels, relics of incalculable historical value.
Jewels of Invaluable Historical Value
According to the Paris Public Prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, the thieves stole eight pieces of great historical and artistic value, with a total estimated worth of €88 million.
“The greatest loss is not financial, but cultural,” the prosecutor stated, pointing out that these jewels are an integral part of France’s historical heritage. “If the perpetrators had the very bad idea of melting them down, they would destroy something that can never be replaced.”
Sunday’s Robbery
According to the evidence so far, the four perpetrators parked their van beneath the window of the Galerie d’Apollon, a few minutes after the museum opened. Within seven minutes, they managed to breach the entrance, shatter the display cases, and escape on scooters waiting for them on an adjacent street. Investigators are examining dozens of security videos from both the museum and the surrounding areas and motorways outside Paris, searching for traces of the perpetrators.
French police are working on the theory that the robbery was organised by professional criminals, with full knowledge of the museum’s layout and the “blind spots” of the security cameras.

Inadequate Security and Chronic Problems
A report by the French Court of Audit, covering the period 2019–2024 and revealed by AFP, describes a “persistent delay” in upgrading the Louvre’s security systems. According to the report, only one quarter of one museum wing is covered by an adequate video surveillance network.
Des Cars had already warned Culture Minister Rachida Dati in January about a “worrying level of obsolescence” of the facilities, highlighting the need for immediate investment in security and maintenance. Despite this, museum unions complain that security staff positions have been reduced, even as visitor numbers have soared to pre-pandemic levels.
“We cannot do without physical surveillance,” a Louvre trade unionist stressed to BFMTV, adding that “technology alone is not enough to protect the invaluable exhibits.”

Worrying Surge in Museum Robberies
Sunday’s incident is the third major robbery at a French museum in a matter of weeks. Just last month, unknown individuals broke into the Paris Museum of Natural History and stole gold nuggets worth over $1.5 million. Shortly afterwards, two plates and a vase valued at $7.6 million were stolen from the Limoges museum.
The Central Office for the Fight Against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Goods warns that museums are “increasingly becoming targets for organised rings,” who know that the value of such objects on the illegal market is enormous.

(infromation from iefimerida.gr)
No comments
Thanks for viewing, your comments are appreciated.
Disclaimer: Comments on this blog are NOT posted by Olomo TIMES, Readers are SOLELY responsible for their comments.
Need to contact us for gossips, news reports, adverts or anything?
Email us on; olomoinfo@gmail.com