The director of the Louvre museum Wednesday admitted there was inadequate security camera coverage of the outside walls, responding to questions after the theft of jewels worth more than $100 million.
“There are some perimeter cameras, but they are ageing,” Laurence des Cars told senators after Sunday’s heist in broad daylight.
Coverage “is highly insufficient,” she conceded.
“It clearly does not cover all the facades of the Louvre, and unfortunately, on the side of the Apollo Gallery, the only camera installed is directed westward and therefore did not cover the balcony involved in the break-in,” she added.
Des Cars said she had requested a report on existing security measures as soon as she took over as head of the world’s most-visited museum in 2021.
She said there was a plan to improve protection of the Louvre buildings, whose extensive collections include Ancient Egyptian relics to the Mona Lisa.
It included “video surveillance covering all facades” and “the installation of fixed thermal cameras”, she said.
Earlier Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the “speeding up” security measures at the Louvre, after it reopened its doors to tourists.
Des Cars said she had tendered her resignation on Sunday after the daring burglary, but that the culture ministry had refused it.
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