Louvre Museum Director Cars: A permanent police station should be established.

Louvre Museum Director Cars: A permanent police station should be established.

23.10.2025 01:40

After the historic robbery at the Louvre Museum in France, Director Laurence des Cars acknowledged the security vulnerability of the museum and proposed the establishment of a permanent police station. Des Cars emphasized the need to update the museum's security system, taking responsibility for the events that occurred.

The Director of the Louvre Museum, Laurence des Cars, who was robbed in France, stated in her testimony to the Senate's Culture Commission, "We experienced a major failure, and I accept responsibility for it," calling for the establishment of a permanent police station within the museum.

LOUVRE MUSEUM DIRECTOR TESTIFIED

While the investigation into the historic robbery that took place at the Louvre Museum in Paris on October 19 continues, Louvre Museum Director Laurence des Cars testified before the Senate's Culture Commission.

"A PERMANENT POLICE STATION SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED WITHIN THE MUSEUM"

Des Cars stated, "On Sunday, the thing that museum professionals fear the most happened. The works we protect were stolen. This is a significant wound for us." Des Cars, who took office as the first female president in the history of the Louvre in May 2021, described the occurrence of the theft despite security protocols as "not inevitable, but a preventable failure." She emphasized, "Museums are never a fortress. They are inherently open spaces. However, this does not mean we should ignore vulnerabilities," and called for the establishment of a permanent police station within the museum.

Des Cars revealed that she submitted her resignation to both the Ministry of Culture and the Presidency after the incident, but her resignation was rejected.

"THE ALARM SOUNDED BUT THE CAMERAS WERE INSUFFICIENT"

Des Cars stated, "The alarm systems worked, video recordings were processed. However, we could not detect the thieves early enough. Our surrounding cameras are either non-existent or very old. The only camera on the facade of the Apollo Gallery was looking in the wrong direction."

Rejecting the criticisms of delays in security investments from the Court of Accounts, Des Cars argued that there was no official delay in the 80 million euro security plan, but acknowledged that the infrastructure is behind 21st-century standards, saying, "The Orsay Museum is much more modern; the Louvre has a chronic lack of infrastructure investment."

"WE ARE FACING NEW CRIME METHODS"

Des Cars also reminded that the staff were unarmed, stating that the four employees present in the gallery during the robbery fully implemented the protocol, visitors were quickly evacuated, and security company teams followed the thieves outside. Des Cars said, "We are facing new crime methods, and we need to update our security system accordingly."

Des Cars stated, "I am trying to serve my country and culture in the best way possible. We experienced a major failure, and I accept responsibility for it."

LOUVRE ROBBERY

The world-famous Louvre Museum, which hosts thousands of visitors every day and exhibits approximately 35,000 works, was robbed on October 19. In the morning hours, four unidentified thieves used a truck's freight elevator outside the museum, broke a window, and entered the area known as the Apollo Gallery, where the Royal jewels are displayed. The thieves stole nine pieces of jewelry and dropped the crown belonging to Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, while escaping. The crown was found damaged outside the museum. The robbery lasted seven minutes, and the thieves fled the scene on motorcycles.

Following the robbery, the museum was temporarily closed for security reasons. After inspections, the Louvre resumed accepting visitors three days later, today.

MUSEUMS IN FRANCE ARE TARGETS OF THIEVES

The recent increase in theft incidents targeting museums in France has brought the security vulnerabilities of cultural heritage institutions back into focus. On September 16, the Paris Museum of Natural History was robbed by an attacker who cut the display cases with a stone saw, stealing approximately 1.5 million euros worth of gold bars.

This year, "national treasure" status Chinese porcelain was stolen from the National Adrien-Dubouché Museum in Limoges. The value of the porcelain was reported to be approximately 9.5 million euros.

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