Louvre boosts security with 100 cameras and other measures after crown jewels heist

The head of the Louvre Museum said that new security measures are being put in place at the Paris landmark after October’s stunning crown jewels heist.  The cameras—some 100 of them—will be up and running by the end of next year, while anti-intrusion systems are expected to already be in place, Louvre director Laurence des Cars said. She described the systems as equipment that will prevent intruders from getting close to the museum buildings but did not offer specifics. The new surveillance cameras will try to ensure “complete protection of the museum’s surroundings,” she said. “After the shock, after the emotion, after the assessment, it's time for action” at the world's most visited museum, des Cars told the Committee of Cultural Affairs of the National Assembly. She said it was all part of more than 20 emergency measures that will be implemented. The new measures also include the creation of a “security coordinator” position at the museum, and the job was posted in November, she added. On the day of the heist, it took thieves less than eight minutes to force their way through a window into the Apollo Gallery with the help of a freight lift and steal the 88 million euro ($102 million) trove. Des Cars unveiled some new details about the security breach that allowed the October 19 robbery, saying the power tools used by robbers to cut through the display cases were disc cutters meant for concrete. “It's a method that had not been imagined at all,” she said, referring to the time when the display cases in the Apollo Gallery were replaced in 2019. At the time, they had been designed primarily to counter an attack from inside the museum with weapons, she added. Footage from museum cameras shows that during the robbery, the display cases “held up remarkably well and did not break apart,” she said. “Videos show how difficult it was for the thieves.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.