Louvre Museum: Report reveals security flaws - 10/20/2025 - World

A report from the French Court of Auditors showed that the Louvre museum, the target of a daylight robbery this Sunday (19), had a series of security flaws.

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The document, obtained by the AFP news agency and the local press, says that the institution "was unable to update itself in the implementation of equipment designed to guarantee the protection of works" during the period analyzed, from 2019 to 2024.

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The report is still preliminary, and a complete version should be published by the end of this year. According to the court's assessment, there is a "persistent delay" in the security area. The document states that around a third of the rooms in the Denon sector of the museum, where the Apollo Gallery is located, which housed the stolen jewels, do not have surveillance cameras.

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In the Richelieu sector, where French sculptures from the 17th century are on display, around 75% of the rooms do not have this type of equipment, while in the Sully wing, which houses items such as mummies, sarcophagi and objects from Mesopotamia, this percentage is 60%.

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According to information released by the press, only 138 cameras were installed in the museum over a five-year period.

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The document says that "although most of the preliminary studies (for the necessary works) have been carried out in recent years", the implementation of the improvements "appears uneven and, in general, very limited". And he states that the investments made were small in relation to the needs of the cultural institution.

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The report also points out that the update of the fire protection system, which began in 2010, "has not yet been completed".

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Crowds gathered outside the museum, which remained closed this Monday, and some people were photographing the place where the criminals entered the building.

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Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said the government had failed, and officials from the Culture and Interior ministries held an emergency meeting on Monday. After the meeting, the government ordered a security review at the Louvre and other cultural spaces in the country.

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"For too long, we have worried about the safety of visitors, but not about the safety of works of art," Culture Minister Rachida Dati told broadcaster M6TV, adding that she intends to accelerate security improvements in museums.

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The robbery occurred at 9:30 am local time (4:30 am in Brasília) on Sunday, half an hour after opening, and shocked tourists who had to leave the place in a hurry. According to the French government, four criminals used a freight elevator and a mini electric saw to commit the crime, in an action that lasted just seven minutes. The criminals fled on a scooter, which has now been located.

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The collection taken included pieces that belonged to Empress Maria Luísa, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as jewelry from Hortênsia, stepdaughter of the emperor and queen of the Netherlands, and Maria Amélia, wife of King Luís Felipe and last queen of France.

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Outside

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The most visited museum in France, the Louvre receives around 9 million visitors per year. President Emmanuel Macron had announced, in January, a structural reform until 2031, with a new entrance and reorganization of rooms to reduce the flow of visitors.

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Last month, two important museums in France suffered million-dollar robberies. Gold nuggets were taken from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, and Chinese porcelain worth millions of euros disappeared from a museum in Limoges.

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