(Paris, October 22) - Louvre Museum Director Decard acknowledged the museum's security system's shortcomings, including weaknesses in its perimeter, chronic underinvestment, and delayed upgrades, and proposed preliminary corrective measures.
Decard spoke publicly for the first time on Wednesday (October 22) at a French Senate hearing on the Louvre robbery. She stated that the Louvre's exterior surveillance cameras were outdated and severely insufficient, failing to cover all exterior walls.
Decard acknowledged the museum's failure to detect the robbers' arrival. She stated that the museum's internal alarms and surveillance were functioning normally at the time of the attack, and that four unarmed security guards in the Apollo Gallery, where the incident occurred, responded professionally. She added that there was only one camera outside the gallery, and that it did not cover the balcony the robbers used to enter the Louvre.
Decard, who will take office in 2021, emphasized that the current challenge is adapting the "security system to new attack methods and modus operandi." In recent years, the museum has focused on potential damage caused by actions such as paint-throwing by activists activating climate change.
The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office stated that on the morning of the 19th, four masked men used a lift to break into the building and stole nine pieces of jewelry worth €88 million (S$130 million) in a matter of minutes. Police later recovered a crown belonging to Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. Following the incident, De Carr offered his resignation as Minister of Culture, but was rejected.
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At the hearing, Decar suggested that in the short term, she hopes to immediately strengthen the Louvre's perimeter security, such as installing barriers to prevent vehicles from parking. Long-term plans include doubling and upgrading the number of surveillance systems within the museum and applying to the Ministry of the Interior for permission to establish a police station within the museum.
