In brief
The Louvre has transferred its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France after a recent heist that highlighted significant security vulnerabilities at the museum. The jewels will be stored in an ultra-secure vault known as the 'Souterraine,' which is 26m below ground and designed to withstand attacks. This decision comes after masked thieves managed to steal treasures worth €88 million in just eight minutes last Sunday. The museum's director has acknowledged that its security infrastructure is outdated, emphasizing the urgency for reforms.
The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France after a spectacular daylight heist exposed woeful flaws in the museum's security.
On Friday, a secret police escort oversaw the transfer of some of the remaining jewels to the Bank, located approximately 500 meters from the museum, according to French media reports.
These jewels will now be stored in the Bank's most secure vault, which is 26 meters below ground at its elegant headquarters in central Paris. This vault holds 90% of France's gold reserves, plus historical items such as Da Vinci's notebooks, valued at an estimated €600 million.
The 'Souterraine', as the vault is called, is designed to withstand all attacks. The main entrance features a 50cm-thick, seven-tonne door made of flame-resistant concrete reinforced with steel. Behind it lies a 35-tonne rotating concrete turret that prevents forced entry.
Last Sunday, masked thieves used an angle grinder to break through a reinforced window into the Louvre's Gallery of Apollo, which houses France's crown jewels. Within eight minutes, they seized treasures, including a necklace belonging to Napoleon's wife Empress Marie-Louise and a diadem from Emperor Napoleon III's wife Eugenie, valued at €88 million.
The criminals employed a mechanical ladder mounted on a lorry to access the first-floor balcony of the gallery.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez expressed confidence that the thieves would be apprehended soon. However, while government officials insist the museum's security was functioning properly at the time, Louvre director Laurence des Cars described the current security infrastructure as weak and outdated. She revealed in a hearing that the sole security camera monitoring the break-in site was facing away from the museum's walls.
