New pictures from the Louvre cameras present for the primary time the theft contained in the Museum | Culture | EUROtoday

On October 19, the Louvre Museum suffered probably the most spectacular assaults in its historical past, when 4 males climbed a ladder to the balcony that provides entry to the Apollo gallery and, armed with radials, broke the show circumstances the place the Crown jewels have been saved and took them away in lower than seven minutes. Just three months after the theft, a French community has printed some unpublished pictures, the primary from contained in the room, which present the velocity and ease with which the thieves made off with the loot.

The scene is worthy of a film. The analysis program Further investigationfrom France Television, broadcast in a broadcast this Sunday the footage captured by the museum’s safety cameras that morning. In the video you’ll be able to see two hooded males, one with a fluorescent vest and the opposite with a helmet, enter the room and go on to the show circumstances, situated within the heart. One of them makes use of a radial first and simply broke the glass together with his fists. Then, attain in to seize the loot. His confederate does the identical in one other of the show circumstances.

The footage reveals a number of safety guards, standing a number of meters away, helplessly watching the scene, not understanding the way to react. One of them grabs one of many posts which are positioned to guard the works and threatens to confront the thieves, he even approaches a number of meters, however lastly provides up when he sees the radio. The video of the scene contained in the room, captured from numerous angles, lasts 4 minutes. In whole, the assault lasted seven. The thieves left the way in which that they had entered and went down the steps, the place the opposite two accomplices have been ready for them.

They took 9 items and solely managed to get well the crown of Empress Eugenia de Montijo, which they misplaced within the flight. The loot, valued at 88 million euros however with incalculable asset worth, nonetheless doesn’t seem. The 4 members of the commando have been arrested every week later and are in jail.

The assault revealed critical safety breaches, although a number of reviews had already warned of deficiencies within the matter. One from the Court of Auditors made public in October warned that surveillance was inadequate and in addition denounced the degradation of the artwork gallery’s amenities. According to the group, lately the Louvre has prioritized the acquisition of works over the upkeep or modernization of its rooms. 2,754 items have been bought in eight years.

Another report commissioned by the Ministry of Culture revealed that on the day of the theft, brokers within the safety management room didn’t have sufficient screens to comply with the photographs in actual time. In addition, an audit carried out in 2019 already indicated that the balcony overlooking the Seine River via which the thieves accessed the Apollo Gallery was a weak level.

In current months, essentially the most visited museum on the earth has been accumulating controversies. A couple of weeks after the theft, the Campana Gallery, which homes works devoted to Greek ceramics, needed to be closed as a result of fragility of the beams and the chance of collapse. Then, a water leak broken 400 works within the library of Egyptian antiquities.

All of those issues led museum staff to name a strike final December to protest the degradation of their circumstances and the shortage of personnel. This Monday the Louvre Museum closed fully to the general public for the third time in a month attributable to lack of employees.

Some 350 staff voted in an meeting to proceed with the strike as a result of lack of progress within the negotiations they’re sustaining with the Ministry of Culture, particularly relating to salaries. The protest started on December 15, when the artwork gallery needed to be fully closed. After the Christmas break, on January 12 it closed to the general public once more.

The museum has 2,200 staff. Since December, the CFGT, CGT and SUD unions have been negotiating with the Ministry of Culture, which introduced a reinforcement of personnel, with 140 hires and in addition agreed to cancel the minimize of 5.7 million within the Museum’s finances. The blocking level now’s now in salaries.

The staff, and in addition Culture, query the administration of the president of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, who took the reins of the museum in 2021. Des Cars has appeared on a number of events within the Assembly and the Senate to provide explanations and has detailed the safety plans carried out lately, clearly inadequate, within the Louvre it’s the most visited museum on the earth, with virtually 9 million guests in 2024.