Louvre Museum Director Cars: I accept responsibility for the failure

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

Des Cars stated, "On Sunday, the thing that museum professionals fear most happened. The works we protect were stolen. This is a major wound for us." Des Cars, who took office in May 2021 as the first female president in the history of the Louvre, described the fact that the theft occurred despite security protocols as "not inevitable, but a preventable failure." "Museums are never fortresses. They are open spaces by nature. However, this does not mean we will ignore weaknesses," said des Cars, calling for the establishment of a permanent police station within the museum.

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

"THE ALARM WORKED BUT THE CAMERAS ARE INADEQUATE"

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

Rejecting the Court of Audit's criticisms regarding delays in security investments, 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; there is a chronic lack of infrastructure investment at the Louvre."

Des Cars also reminded that the staff is unarmed, stating that the 4 guards present in the gallery at the time of the robbery followed the protocol completely, visitors were evacuated quickly, and security company teams followed the thieves outside. Des Cars said, "We are facing new criminal methods, and we must renew our security system accordingly."

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

The world-famous Louvre Museum, which welcomes thousands of visitors every day and exhibits approximately 35 thousand works, was robbed on October 19. Four unidentified thieves, who used a freight elevator of a truck outside the museum in the morning, broke a window and entered the section called the Apollo Gallery, where royal jewels are exhibited. The thieves stole 9 pieces of jewelry and dropped a crown belonging to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, while fleeing. The crown was found damaged outside the museum. The thieves' robbery lasted 7 minutes, and they fled the scene on motorcycles.

Following the robbery, the museum was temporarily closed for security reasons. After the inspections, the Louvre began accepting visitors again today, 3 days later.

MUSEUMS ARE TARGETS FOR THIEVES

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

This year, Chinese porcelain with "national treasure" status was stolen from the Adrien-Dubouché National Museum in the city of Limoges. It was stated that the value of the porcelain was approximately 9.5 million euros.

News Source: İHA