The financial loss from France’s most dramatic heist in decades at the Louvre museum has been put at nearly €90m.
As police continued to search for the criminal gang behind the brazen robbery on Sunday, the Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau told a new agency that the museum’s curator had estimated the losses at about €88m (£76m). It is not known how, where or whether the jewels will resurface.
“The wrongdoers who took these gems won’t earn €88m if they had the very bad idea of disassembling these jewels. We can perhaps hope that they’ll think about this and won’t destroy these jewels without rhyme or reason.″
Laure Beccuau
The French government will not be compensated for the stolen works of art. Those at private museums in Paris, such as the Louis Vuitton Foundation or Pinault Collection, are usually covered by private insurance. A government spokesperson said on Tuesday that in the case of the Louvre “the state acts as its own insurer.”
According to the Spokesperson, this took into account the immensely high cost of insurance “when the claims rate is low.”
A gang of four thieves forced their way into the Louvre’s Apollo gallery shortly after the museum opened on Sunday morning, using a ladder from a furniture hoist on the street below and making off with eight pieces of Napoleonic jewellery.
Speaking to the national assembly, the Culture Minister, Rachida Dati, defended the museum and dismissed speculation that the security cameras had not worked properly.
“The Louvre museum’s security apparatus did not fail, that is a fact. The Louvre museum’s security apparatus worked.”
Rachida Dati
She added, however, that a portion of the budget for the Louvre’s renovation would now be dedicated to updating its security system, including new CCTV cameras.
The museum also hit back at claims about its outdated security setup. Contrary to some reports, it said, the display cases protecting the stolen Napoleonic jewellery had been installed in 2019 and “represented a considerable improvement in terms of security.”
Paris prosecutors have charged a specialised unit known as the BRB with investigating the crime. The 100-strong force deals with high-profile robberies such as the armed holdup of the reality TV star Kim Kardashian in a Paris hotel in 2016.
Investigators from the Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property are also expected to be involved.
Despite the seemingly well-prepared nature of the heist, detectives have evidence that could help them trace the perpetrators. As well as a yellow hi-vis vest with DNA traces, the robbers left behind a piece of jewellery – a crown that once belonged to Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie – and police were able to secure motorcycles, a licence plate and the basket case used to access the first-floor gallery.
Louvre Head To Face Questioning
Meanwhile, the head of the Louvre is prepared to face difficult questions over how thieves were able to steal priceless jewellery in broad daylight.
The museum’s President and Director, Laurence des Cars, is expected to respond to questions from the parliament’s culture committee on Wednesday afternoon, three days after the seven-minute robbery that targeted France’s crown jewels.
Des Cars is expected to respond to questions over the speed with which the thieves were able to break through a first-floor window, the quality of the display cases that held the jewellery and the apparent lack of a rapid-response unit to deter the robbers.
It is unclear whether the museum, which shut in the immediate aftermath of the robbery and remained closed on Monday and Tuesday, will reopen on Wednesday.
