Editor’s Note
This article reveals that a 2018 security audit for the Louvre had specifically warned about the vulnerability exploited in the October 19th jewelry heist, raising significant questions about the implementation of prior security recommendations.
A 2018 security report had warned of the possibility of accessing the Louvre balcony used by the thieves in the spectacular October 19th jewelry heist. The security audit, conducted that year by the high jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels for the museum, precisely warned of the possibility of accessing that balcony, which belongs to the Apollo Gallery, according to the newspaper Le Monde on the evening of Tuesday, November 25th.
In the 2018 document, “two pages and three visual diagrams specifically address the balcony overlooking the Apollo Gallery,” and its authors “insist, in their text, on the window facing the Quai François-Mitterrand, which they describe as ‘one of the establishment’s greatest vulnerabilities’,” writes the outlet.
The report mentions access to the railing from the ground. To illustrate their concerns, the Van Cleef & Arpels experts include, through a visual document, the hypothesis of criminals using a lifting platform, as detailed by the newspaper. The management of the famous museum told Le Monde that they only learned of the existence of this report after the robbery.
The current management, led by Laurence des Cars since 2021, assured the newspaper that these documents, commissioned by the previous team led by Jean-Luc Martinez, “were not communicated” at the time of the handover of positions. The report also specified, with images, that the surveillance cameras near the balcony did not fully cover this access.
Some details of this study correspond to the modus operandi used by the gang that day: using a lifting platform, they managed to access the balcony of the Apollo Gallery and, with an angle grinder, broke the window and entered the space to take eight jewels from the French Crown.
The robbery occurred at 9:30 in the morning. The thieves parked a lifting platform at the entrance of the Louvre and used it to elevate themselves to the Apollo Gallery, pretending to be workers disguised with yellow vests. Once inside, they broke display cases and took pieces valued at about 88 million euros, including tiaras, necklaces, and brooches with diamonds.
They fled on high-capacity motorcycles. Although there are detainees for the attack, the jewels remain missing.
Investigators highlight a pattern: all those involved lived in the same area and had prior links with each other. The Paris prosecutor, Laure Beccuau, described the case as an example of low-profile criminals who escalated to high-impact crimes.
