Paris’ Louvre Museum director told French senators that security cameras didn’t cover the balcony that suspects used to break in and steal royal jewels.
The director, Laurence des Cars, said Wednesday that “there are a few perimeter cameras, but they are aging. … The fleet is very insufficient, does not cover all the facades of the Louvre, and unfortunately on the side of the Apollo gallery the only camera is placed in a west direction and therefore did not cover the balcony affected by the break-in,” according to France 24 TV network.
On Sunday, the suspects used an angle grinder to break in after using a vehicle-mounted ladder to access the eastern balcony of the museum.
Once in, they stole eight pieces of French royal jewelry worth $102 million.
Ms. des Cars told French senators that the jewel cases installed a few years ago were designed to withstand bullets, not the angle grinder.
“At the time, this was the dominant modus operandi for this type of attack, for precious objects, jewelry, attacks in jewelry stores,” Ms. des Cars said, according to CNN.
The grinder created holes that let the thieves reach in and grab the jewels. Louvre officials suspect that a crown, found near the scene of the crime after the suspects abandoned it as they fled, was damaged because of this.
“The glass resisted … so objects were crushed as they were being pulled out,” Ms. des Cars said, according to The Guardian.
Ms. des Cars also said she tried to resign as director but was refused by France’s Ministry of Culture, according to the BBC.
The eight missing pieces of jewelry, including two diadems, an emerald earring and necklace set, a sapphire earring and necklace set, and two brooches, are now in the Interpol database of stolen art.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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