New images from the Louvre cameras show for the first time the theft inside the Museum | Culture

On October 19, the Louvre Museum suffered one of the most spectacular assaults in its history, when four men climbed a ladder to the balcony that gives access to the Apollo gallery and, armed with radials, broke the display cases where the Crown jewels were stored and took them away in less than seven minutes. Just three months after the robbery, a French network has published some unpublished images, the first from inside the room, which show the speed and ease with which the thieves made off with the loot.

The scene is worthy of a movie. The research program Further investigationfrom France Television, broadcast in a broadcast this Sunday the footage captured by the museum’s security cameras that morning. In the video you can see two hooded men, one with a fluorescent vest and the other with a helmet, enter the room and go directly to the display cases, located in the center. One of them uses a radial first and just broke the glass with his fists. Then, reach in to grab the loot. His accomplice does the same in another of the display cases.

The footage shows several security guards, standing a few meters away, helplessly watching the scene, not knowing how to react. One of them grabs one of the posts that are placed to protect the works and threatens to confront the thieves, he even approaches a few meters, but finally gives up when he sees the radio. The video of the scene inside the room, captured from various angles, lasts four minutes. In total, the assault lasted seven. The thieves left the way they had entered and went down the stairs, where the other two accomplices were waiting for them.

They took nine pieces and only managed to recover the crown of Empress Eugenia de Montijo, which they lost in the flight. The loot, valued at 88 million euros but with incalculable asset value, still does not appear. The four members of the commando were arrested a week later and are in prison.

The assault revealed serious security breaches, despite the fact that several reports had already warned of deficiencies in the matter. One from the Court of Auditors made public in October warned that surveillance was insufficient and also denounced the degradation of the art gallery’s facilities. According to the organization, in recent years the Louvre has prioritized the acquisition of works over the maintenance or modernization of its rooms. 2,754 pieces were purchased in eight years.

Another report commissioned by the Ministry of Culture revealed that on the day of the theft, agents in the security control room did not have enough screens to follow the images in real time. In addition, an audit carried out in 2019 already indicated that the balcony overlooking the Seine River through which the thieves accessed the Apollo Gallery was a vulnerable point.

In recent months, the most visited museum in the world has been accumulating controversies. A few weeks after the theft, the Campana Gallery, which houses works dedicated to Greek ceramics, had to be closed due to the fragility of the beams and the risk of collapse. Then, a water leak damaged 400 works in the library of Egyptian antiquities.

All of these problems led museum workers to call a strike last December to protest the degradation of their conditions and the lack of personnel. This Monday the Louvre Museum closed completely to the public for the third time in a month due to lack of staff.

Some 350 employees voted in an assembly to continue with the strike due to the lack of progress in the negotiations they are maintaining with the Ministry of Culture, especially regarding salaries. The protest began on December 15, when the art gallery had to be completely closed. After the Christmas break, on January 12 it closed to the public again.

The museum has 2,200 employees. Since December, the CFGT, CGT and SUD unions have been negotiating with the Ministry of Culture, which announced a reinforcement of personnel, with 140 hires and also agreed to cancel the cut of 5.7 million in the Museum’s budget. The blocking point now is now in salaries.

The employees, and also Culture, question the management of the president of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, who took the reins of the museum in 2021. Des Cars has appeared on several occasions in the Assembly and the Senate to give explanations and has detailed the security plans carried out in recent years, clearly insufficient, in the Louvre it is the most visited museum in the world, with almost nine million visitors in 2024.