New surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems will soon be installed at the Louvre Museum, the institution’s director announced on Wednesday, following last month’s shocking theft of jewels from its collection.
Around 100 new cameras will be operational by the end of next year, while the anti-intrusion systems will begin installation within two weeks, said Louvre director Laurence des Cars.
She described the systems as equipment designed to prevent intruders from approaching the museum buildings, though she did not provide specific details. The new surveillance network will offer “complete protection of the museum’s surroundings,” she noted.
“After the shock, after the emotion, after the assessment, it is time to act,” des Cars told the National Assembly’s Cultural Affairs Committee, referring to the world’s most visited museum.
She added that these upgrades are part of more than 20 emergency measures the Louvre is implementing. Among them is the creation of a new “security coordinator” position at the museum, a role that was officially posted this month.
On the day of the theft, the robbers took less than eight minutes to break in through a window of the Apollo Gallery using a forklift and steal jewels worth €88 million ($102 million USD).
Des Cars revealed new details about the security breach, explaining that the thieves used industrial concrete-cutting disc tools to break into the display cases.
“It was a method that had not been imagined at all” when the Apollo Gallery’s cases were replaced in 2019, she said. At that time, they were designed primarily to withstand attacks from inside the museum using weapons.
Footage from the museum’s cameras shows the display cases “held up remarkably well and did not shatter,” she said. “The videos show how difficult it was for the thieves.”
Des Cars stressed that improving security is a top priority of the Louvre’s decade-long “New Renaissance” plan, launched earlier this year with an estimated budget of up to €800 million ($933 million USD). The project aims to modernize the museum’s infrastructure, reduce overcrowding, and build a dedicated gallery for the Mona Lisa by 2031.
With the Louvre struggling under the pressure of mass tourism, des Cars has limited daily visitors to 30,000 in recent years.
She noted that the iconic glass pyramid, inaugurated in 1989, was originally designed to accommodate around four million visitors a year. This year, more than eight million people have already visited the Louvre.
“The major modernization the Louvre underwent in the 1980s is now technically obsolete, with equipment that has been operating beyond capacity for 40 years,” des Cars said.
On Monday, the museum announced that it would temporarily close some employee offices and a public gallery due to structural fragility.