Louvre director says failures in security cameras allowed the robbery • ReutersThe Louvre’s security camera system, considered outdated, failed on Sunday (19) to not detect the thieves in time to prevent the historic robbery, the museum’s director said on Wednesday (22), when the museum reopened to the public.
On Sunday, thieves broke into the world-famous Paris museum using a crane to break an upper-floor window and stole French crown jewels worth around US$102 million, the equivalent of almost R$550 million, fleeing on motorbikes.
“Despite our efforts, despite our hard work every day, we were defeated,” Louvre director Laurence des Cars told a Senate committee.
“We didn’t detect it,” he said, blaming the lack of external cameras monitoring the museum’s surroundings.
According to her, external security cameras do not offer full coverage of the museum’s facade, adding that, in particular, the window through which the thieves entered was not monitored by cameras.
Des Cars insisted he had repeatedly warned about the.
“The warnings I had been issuing came to fruition in a terrible way last Sunday,” he declared.
She added that she handed her letter of resignation to Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who declined the request.
