Elise Muller, who patrols rooms inside the previous palace, mentioned she is “enraged” by Sunday’s jewelry heist and that safety shortcomings have lengthy been highlighted.
She mentioned: “We have raised the alarm through our union, and our colleagues have all repeatedly warned about the difficulties we face every day at work; equipment being in poor condition, sometimes even completely obsolete, coupled with a very drastic cut in staff.
“We inevitably reached the restrict of what we might do to safe the constructing and its collections.”
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Elise Muller, a safety employee on the Louvre Museum
A day after the brazen daylight theft, the doorways of Louvre remained closed.
Dissatisfied guests have been turned away as police continued to hunt the gang that robbed one of many world’s most well-known museums.
“You can’t imagine it. You see it in the movies. It was very well thought out, and this is something that happened in minutes,” Luis from Mexico instructed me.
“I’m really disappointed, it was a once-in-a-lifetime to come see it and now I’m not going to get to see it because the robbery is a once-in-a-lifetime too,” added Cathy from Florida.
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Police close to the Louvre Pyramid. Pic: Reuters
It was round 9.30am on Sunday when thieves used a motorised ladder to entry the primary flooring of the Louvre.
They then smashed via the window and entered the Apollo gallery which homes the jewels belonging to Napoleon and French regents.
Inside, they grabbed treasures together with necklaces, earrings, and a tiara after which fled on scooters after dropping a crown belonging to Empress Eugenie.
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The Empress Eugenie tiara. Pic: Louvre
The prosecutor instructed French media the audacious heist is probably going the work of an organised felony group presumably stealing for a collector.
But it surely’s against the law that is outraged many in France who marvel, how might this occur?
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Police working by a basket carry utilized by thieves on the Louvre museum in Paris. Pic: AP
In a radio interview, justice minister Gerald Darmanin mentioned France had failed – questioning why the museum’s home windows weren’t safe and the way the thieves might break in on a busy street.
Police at the moment are desperately making an attempt to trace down the culprits earlier than the treasures are misplaced.
Alexandre Giquello auctions valuable antiques.
He mentioned the robbers might want to shift the jewels shortly, and since they’re so well-known they will not have the ability to promote them as complete items on the black market.
He mentioned: “If you want to take something like this you have to destroy it – chop up the stones, melt the gold and that’s the disaster of this.”
We contacted the Louvre in regards to the issues Ms Muller raised however a spokesperson mentioned they might not be making a remark.
In an announcement on Sunday, the Tradition Ministry highlighted {that a} new grasp safety plan is being applied as a part of the “New Renaissance project” introduced by President Emmanuel Macron in January.
It contains upgraded safety measures with subsequent technology cameras, perimeter detection techniques, and a brand new safety management centre.
However that every one takes time, and catching the thieves who broke into the Louvre is now about extra than simply fixing against the law, it is about saving nationwide treasures and France’s popularity.
