Louvre beefs up security after crown jewel theft, installs bars on infamous window

A crane was placed outside the Louvre Museum in Paris on Tuesday, but this time it was not being used by jewel thieves stealing some of the nation’s historic treasures.

Instead, the machine was operated by maintenance workers wearing hard hats and high-visibility vests while a crew installed metal bars in the now-infamous second-story window.

A team of thieves posing as workers used a basket lift to break into that window on October 19. The thieves entered the museum’s Apollo Gallery and broke the display cases to steal. nine pieces of jewelry. The four alleged thieves have been arrested and chargedbut none of the jewelry have been recovered except for a crown that was dropped when the group escaped.

The theft exposed security failures at the world’s most visited museum. A recent security audit found that 35% of the rooms in the Denon wing, where the stolen jewelry was displayed, are not monitored by security cameras, according to Radio France. The gems were also not privately insured, in according to French law.

Other security improvements are coming, the museum’s director said in November. Installation of new anti-intrusion systems would begin in early December, while more than 100 new cameras are expected to be operational by the end of 2026, News themezone. previously reported.

The Louvre had no public comment on Tuesday’s security operation. Samuel Lasnel, of elevator maintenance company Grima-Nacelles, said he and his team arrived before dawn on Tuesday to carry out the important task of securing the windows.

“We have already worked at the Louvre, inside, outside, inside and outside the pyramid, we have been here several times,” he told The News. “The Louvre knows us well.”