PARIS (AP) — The Louvre will install streetside anti-ramming and anti-intrusion devices in the next two months, France's culture minister said Friday, after facing pressure following the Oct. 19 heist of crown jewels at the museum.
The announcement follows a provisional investigation that found a “chronic, structural underestimation” of the risk of theft at the Paris landmark.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati has said that alarms worked during the robbery, but acknowledged “security gaps,” refused the resignation of the museum director and cited four failings: underestimated risk, underequipped security, ill-suited governance and “obsolete” protocols.
“On public roads, anti-ramming and anti-intrusion devices will be installed before the end of the year,” she told the TF1 broadcaster on Friday.
The thieves used a truck-mounted basket lift to reach a window of the Apollo Gallery and fled with eight crown jewel pieces within minutes.
Scrutiny by the French Senate this week investigated surveillance gaps and accountability, with some lawmakers and unions questioning whether the minister’s measures amount to gestures rather than durable reform.
Louvre director Laurence des Cars has already said that the museum needs physical barriers to stop vehicles from parking close to vulnerable windows.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.