The Louvre in Paris is currently the world’s most visited museum. Today, though, it’s found itself at the center of the latest target in a recent series of high-profile art thefts. Amid the busy holiday weekend chaos, thieves managed to execute a brazen escape that took just under four minutes. They fled with a haul of eight priceless objects, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon had given Empress Marie Louise and the 19th-century crown of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III.
And the thief chose to attack while in a crowded gallery of tourists admiring the priceless works of art. Witnesses recorded the scary incident on video, transforming the crash into a shocking public display. The terrorists busted through a window to gain access to the museum. Then they used a battery of industrial power tools, including chainsaws, to pull off their heist with deadly precision.
The Louvre’s security procedures at the time of the theft have been sharply criticized. This is a truly tragic and harrowing event – a spokesperson for the museum, Elise Muller, lamented the attack.
“So the Louvre staff, including myself, are both extremely sad and extremely angry about what happened today. Extremely sad because, obviously, it’s our job to protect this building, this institution, the collections it houses, and the public who visit it. And in fact, today, it wasn’t protected as we would have liked.” – Elise Muller
French authorities have reacted to the incident with astonishing speed. The Paris prosecutor’s office is leading an investigation. Sixty investigators are on the ground investigating, constantly searching for four suspects connected to the theft. This unfortunate incident is actually part of a larger and more alarming trend. In the past few months, French museums have been hit in a string of identical surprise attacks.
At the time, French President Emmanuel Macron reassured the nation against the theft. He further expressed the significance of this cultural heritage and the rapid response that was executed by law enforcement.
“The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our History. We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor’s office.” – Emmanuel Macron
Specialists consider the precision of this operation reflects the greater interest of organized crime in art thefts. According to one insider, the key motivators for these criminal operatives are twofold. They either target specific collectors, or they are drawn to the intrinsic value of the jewelry and artifacts themselves.
“Either it was commissioned by a collector, in which case, if we identify this collector and this commissioner, we will find the jewellery in good condition. Or, as we can see on different occasions, it was commissioned by people who only noticed these jewels because of the stones and pearls and objects, the rare metals they were made of.” – Laure Beccuau
Given what happened with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum incident, worries over museum security has only heightened. Reports suggest that the Louvre had recently asked for more money to strengthen security at the site. As we all have watched as observers in the last three weeks, even the most highly venerated institutions are not immune from such brazen attacks.
An unnamed source remarked on the seriousness of organized crime’s targeting of cultural institutions:
“We came immediately, a couple of minutes after we received information of this robbery. To be completely honest, this operation lasted almost four minutes – it was very quick. We have to say that these are professionals. Organised crime today targets objects of art, and museums of course have become targets, because France, as you know, is a country of heritage, a country with historical objects of heritage with great value.” – Unnamed
As investigations continue and security protocols are reassessed, visitors and museum staff alike express their disbelief at the audacity of such a crime. Visitors, who witnessed the tragic event unfold, took to social media to express their dismay and fear of returning in the future.
“I said I can’t believe this happened right, we were supposed to go tomorrow and is it going to be open? And she said – you read the article, right?” – Jennifer Keane
