Theft from the Louvre - It Gets Worse

One would have thought that since 1911, after Da Vinci's Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) was removed from the Louvre when it was taken out of its frame (the painting is on a wood panel and not on canvas) and then spirited away inside the overcoat of an Italian carpenter who was working in the Louvre at the time — that those in charge of securing the grand museum in the intervening decades would have installed very sophisticated and fool-proof monitoring, surveillance systems, and alarms that would have gone off the second a window was opened.

Unfortunately, a report of what actually happened when thieves broke into a gallery and removed priceless gems and jewelry is, well, more alarming than previously reported.

From Breitbart (emphasis mine):

It was quickly revealed after the attack on the Louvre that long-promised security improvements are years behind schedule, and in the wing where the stolen jewels were housed, many rooms don’t even have basic equipment like security cameras. Urgent questions have been raised about why, given it was stated at the time of the robbery five museum staff were in the room, none of them intervened to prevent the theft.

Most residents in America and other parts of the world appear to have better security systems for their homes than the Louvre has for protecting its priceless treasures. In many states - Texas, Oklahoma, Florida - thieves are likely to be shot and possibly killed when attempting to steal anything from a homeowner. The Louvre...not so much.

And then there are the allegations that DEI also played a role in the successful theft (from the same Breitbart article):

Maréchal pointed to the recently-appointed head of security at the Louvre, stating that what are widely known as DEI policies to enforce gender balance on senior roles had eroded competence at the museum. She said “France has been the laughingstock of the world because of the ridiculous theft of the crown jewels at the Louvre” and called on France’s Minister of Culture Rachida Dati to demand resignations.

She said: “[The Minister] must demand the immediate resignation of the museum’s director Laurence Des Cars and the security chief Dominique Buffin, whom she appointed – [left-wing broadsheet newspaper] Le Monde was delighted – as part of a feminization policy. Evidently at the cost of forgoing competence and endangering the cultural heritage of our Nation.”

Director Des Cars was reportedly booed by staff when she attempted to address them in person after the heist at the weekend, according to The Times. Staff have previously gone on strike at the museum over overcrowding and security concerns in 2013, 2019, and 2025.

When the Mona Lisa was stolen, the Minister of the Interior was summarily fired. French citizens were incensed and the Italian carpenter was caught two years later when he attempted to sell the Mona Lisa to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

The jewel thieves, as of this writing, have not been caught. French officials in charge of securing the Louvre have not been fired - as yet.