THE sole camera monitoring the area where the robbers broke into the Louvre was pointing in the wrong direction, the museum’s director has revealed.
The brazen theft saw a gang of burglars scaling the side of the world’s most visited gallery before opening a window to enter and steal crown jewels worth $102milllion – all in just seven minutes.
Laurence des Cars, the director of the museum, admitted there was a secret failure and the museum “failed” to protect the irreplaceable jewels from “brutal” criminals.
“Despite our efforts, despite our hard work on a daily basis, we failed,” she said.
Des Cars revealed that security cameras did not adequately cover the thieves’ point of entry.
She said the security perimeter cameras are ageing and do not cover all the external walls of the Louvre.
The only camera over the Apollo Gallery was facing westwards and didn’t cover the balcony where the break-in took place.
The director said: “We did not spot the arrival of the thieves early enough… the weakness of our perimeter protection is known.”
Paris has been left stunned by the simple nature of the attack on the Louvre.
It took just seven minutes for a chainsaw-wielding gang to get inside and steal tens of millions worth of jewellery.
The gang – described as a “highly organised commando unit” made up of four – were last seen disappearing on two Yamaha mopeds through the French capital.
Four men pulled up on scooters to the museum at around 9:30am on Sunday morning, targeting the side of the Apollo Gallery building facing the River Seine.
Inside, the gallery houses some of France’s most precious treasures – including the royal jewels.
A cherry-picker gave access to the first floor, and they climbed onto the balcony.
They then used a glass cutter to break through the window – with two of the gang dashing inside while one stayed as lookout.
The gang are thought to have been equipped with power tools – including chainsaws – to smash their way in and bust open two display cabinets.
Over the course of just seven minutes, the thieves grabbed nine glittering pieces from the Napoleon and Empress Joséphine collection – but dropped one as they tore off.
They managed to get away with priceless pieces including a tiara, necklaces and brooches that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte’s family.
Parisian cops are now desperately trying to hunt down the eight pieces of invaluable jewels nicked in the broad daylight heist.
It comes amid serious fears that the jewels had been stolen so they could be sold off around the globe to the rich and wealthy via the black market where they will likely never be seen again.
Robbers often prefer items that can be broken up, melted or made smaller which can also be converted into cash – such as the jewels.
This is because things like crowns and diamonds can easily be broken apart and sold into several bits.
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The final price might drop significantly compared to the entire historical jewel but it does allow for a safer and easier transaction if it goes to market.
If the Louvre’s famous artefacts are already in a safe house, then it is possible that they have already been cut up, melted down or even sold in full.
List of looted treasures
THESE are the eight “priceless” pieces of jewellery stolen in the smash-and-grab raid on the Louvre museum in Paris
- Tiara from the set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
- Necklace from the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
- Earring, from the pair belonging to the sapphire set of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense
- Emerald necklace from the Empress Marie Louise set
- Pair of emerald earrings from the Empress Marie Louise set
- Brooch known as the “reliquary brooch”
- Tiara of Empress Eugenie
- Large corsage bow brooch of Empress Eugenie
- Another item – the crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugenie – was reportedly recovered from outside the window but broken.