The Louvre museum has been in the spotlight in recent days, not because of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or the rare jewels it displays, but because of Sunday’s robbery. The iconic building, which represents the pinnacle of 19th-century “haute joaillerie”, is centered around a window pane of chainsaw-cut glass.
The world’s most visited museum reopened to visitors on Wednesday, October 22, days after the brazen daylight robbery. Days after thieves stole Napoleonic jewels worth ₹$896 million ($102 million) in a daring daytime heist, the broken window draws crowds and has become Paris’ newest tourist attraction.
After the most dramatic robbery in French history in decades, visitors were seen queuing outside the museum, which is home to some of the most canonical works of Western art. However, the doors of the Apollo Gallery remained closed to visitors, while three gray panels blocked the view of the unauthorized window.
One user wrote: “So robbing the Louvre was as simple as climbing up to the 2nd floor, breaking the glass windows, entering the museum, breaking the glass cases and taking stuff? No lasers? No metal rods? I mean, for a multi-million museum, I’m shocked it was that easy.”
Another user commented: “So the Louvre Robber Gallery window is just basic 19th century shuttered glazing in a wooden frame?”
A third user said: “The most beautiful jewels of the Louvre behind a completely rotten French window that has not seen a painter in decades and with an OUT OF SERVICE alarm!”
A fourth comment read: “Even after the heist, art lovers still flock, the magic of the Louvre never fades.
A fifth user replied: “A few months ago #Macron announced plans to beef up security at the #Louvres, sparing no detail. Today we learn that the room at the Louvres where the rarest Crown Jewels are kept is protected by a wooden window and simple glass.”
A sixth user said the window “is the new attraction of the Louvre; visiting the exterior will soon be paid 🙃😂.”
A seventh user said: “This attraction is free 👌”
An eighth user commented: “Bercy could charge for the photo!”
The director of the Louvre responds
According to museum director Laurence des Cars, the Louvre’s cameras failed to detect the robbers in time. During a hearing in the French Senate on Wednesday, she said she would ask the French Interior Ministry to set up a police station inside the museum.
She blamed inadequate CCTV surveillance outside the gallery, claiming it “failed to cover the balcony” where the offenders broke into.
