Visitors should have found peace on a recent Sunday morning at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Instead, a brazen art heist took place opening up serious concerns over the security of this cultural treasure. Thieves executed a perfectly tessellating crime and made off with eight Napoleonic era bling-bling. One of these discoveries was an exquisite tiara belonging to Empress Eugénie, set with almost 2,000 diamonds, and a lavish necklace featuring eight sapphires and 631 diamonds.
The brazen heist took place in mid-afternoon. The criminals utilized a vehicle-mounted Extension Ladder to gain entry to first-story window of the museum. They went to the window ready to engage. Equipped with a battery-powered disc cutter, they quickly cut their way through the museum’s glass door to gain access to the museum. They absconded with treasures which are not only irreplaceable from a historical viewpoint, but which have colossal material value.
Among the missing treasures was a long-desired crown, formerly owned by Napoleon III’s wife. On their flight, the robbers tossed this stolen help along the side of the road. This miscalculation cast doubt on the overall competence of their planning and build-out. After their daring international art caper, these robbers fled the scene of the crime on simple mopeds, escaping justice.
Implementing fire protection through permanent firefighters In addition to extinguishing fires, the Louvre employs nearly 50 permanent firefighters to protect its sprawling collection against fires and flooding. The museum lacks an equivalent rapid-response unit. A recently leaked report from state auditors makes clear that the museum would struggle to address even the gravest threats. The inspector general’s report points out “significant” and “chronic” lags to install new screening technology. Alarmingly, the Louvre still lacks basic monitoring—which includes not installing security cameras along the walls.
The unprecedented heist has led some to wonder what other vulnerabilities lurk within our historic buildings, such as the Louvre. Industry specialists argue that this case represents an alarming increase in smash-and-grab heists that exclusively go after precious stones and metals. Contrary to prior thefts, these crimes are targeting lesser traditional art pieces.
Christopher A Marinello, a legal expert on stolen art, shared insight into the motivations for these thefts.
“Smash, grab, and melt it down as quickly as possible.” – Christopher A Marinello
He questioned why thieves would target a world-renowned museum when high-end jewelry stores like Cartier might seem easier to rob.
“You may ask why thieves who want to steal expensive jewellery are breaking into a world-famous museum rather than a Cartier store,” he said. “The answer is simple: it’s because these days a Cartier store is better protected.”
Here’s what art crime expert, Arthur Brand, had to say about it. He notes that the stolen merchandise can get a bad name, which can make them difficult to sell. Yet thieves continue to regularly hit high-visibility places in pursuit of the proverbial low hanging fruit.
“Stolen to order is something from the Hollywood movies,” he stated.
Brand further noted the difficulty that thieves would have in trying to deal such easily identifiable property.
“Nobody would touch this. It’s all around the world and in all the newspapers. If you buy this, if you get caught, you end up in prison. You cannot show it to your friends, you cannot leave it to your children.” – Arthur Brand
Chief Executive Officer of the International Foundation for Art Research, Lynda Albertson, imparted her wisdom. She addressed the difficulty of being able to sell identifiable items on the legal market.
“There’s no way to sell something as immediately identifiable as the Louvre’s jewels on the licit market.” – Lynda Albertson
The attack led to widespread alarm over security protocols in landmark structures. Artistic and cultural heritage specialist, Erin Thompson explained that these specific kinds of structures often pose unique challenges.
“Historic buildings are much harder to protect,” she noted. “Many of them have nice big street-facing windows that makes it easy for thieves to get away, and there may be building protection statutes in place that mean you can’t fit them with proper bulletproof glass.”
Security consultant Peter Stürmann underscored the need for museums to take stronger, more proactive protective measures.
“There should be several layers to repel attackers.” – Peter Stürmann
The Louvre Heist comes at a moment when cultural institutions have been forced to reckon with the effects of budgetary austerity. These financial shocks are occurring in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Marinello brought attention to another worrisome issue—an international retreat from funding public law enforcement. Yet they’ve slashed support for these cultural sectors since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Since Covid, governments across the globe have cut back on law enforcement and the culture sector,” he stated. “If thieves can get into the Louvre, it shows how vulnerable our institutions have become. This is a horrible time to be a museum.” – Christopher A Marinello
Investigations continue, and law enforcement continues to pursue action to recover the stolen goods. This tragic event prompts immediate questions of how museums can enhance security measures to better safeguard their collections and protect their visitors from events like this one. The Louvre’s response may very well establish the standard going forward. Other institutions will follow it as they address the challenge of safeguarding priceless cultural heritage from audacious criminal syndicates.