A devastating report by France's Court of Auditors has revealed catastrophic security failures at the Louvre Museum, contradicting earlier claims by French Culture Minister Rachida Dati that security measures had functioned properly during the mid-October jewelry heist worth $88 million. The 153-page report exposes security arrangements at the world's most famous museum as "practically non-existent."
The audit reveals shocking misplaced priorities in the museum's management. Between 2018 and 2024, the Louvre invested only $3 million in security measures, despite needing $83 million for adequate protection. Even more strikingly, the museum spent $105 million on acquiring new artworks - more than the combined $90 million allocated for security, modernization, and restoration. Of the 2,800 artworks purchased during this period, less than a quarter have been displayed to the public.
The physical security infrastructure is alarmingly inadequate for a facility of the Louvre's importance. The museum has only five cameras monitoring its facade, despite having exterior walls stretching nearly two miles. The wall that thieves scaled to enter the museum was monitored by just one camera, which failed to capture the actual break-in area. Inside the museum, surveillance gaps are even more concerning, with up to 75 percent of some areas completely unmonitored.
Perhaps most damaging is the revelation that these security vulnerabilities were not unknown to museum officials. A comprehensive security review conducted between 2015 and 2017 identified numerous deficiencies and made specific recommendations - none of which have been implemented to this day. The casual approach to security extended to basic cybersecurity measures, with reports indicating the museum's security system password was simply "Louvre."
The museum continues to operate with outdated software that no longer receives security updates, creating additional vulnerabilities. Court of Auditors Chief Pierre Moscovici called the theft "a deafening alarm signal" that confirms many of the audit's findings. The security failures have forced Culture Minister Dati to reverse her initial statements and acknowledge that current practices are unsustainable.
Dati has now promised new security measures by the end of the year, stating "We cannot continue like this." However, these belated actions will not recover the stolen jewelry. Nearly three weeks after the heist, despite the arrest of several suspected perpetrators, the $88 million worth of stolen items remains missing with no trace of their whereabouts. The Louvre, which welcomes up to 30,000 visitors daily, now faces urgent pressure to address fundamental security shortcomings that have left one of the world's most prestigious cultural institutions vulnerable to criminal exploitation.
