Paris, October 20, 2025 — The Europe Today: French authorities announced plans to tighten security measures around the country’s cultural institutions following a major jewellery theft at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday. The decision was confirmed by advisers to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez on Monday.
The move comes after a high-level meeting between police and government ministers, convened in response to Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin’s remarks that existing security protocols had “failed,” thereby damaging France’s international reputation, according to local media reports.
During the audacious daytime heist, a group of thieves armed with power tools broke into the world-renowned museum, making off with eight priceless items — including a diamond and emerald necklace once gifted to Napoleon’s wife — before fleeing the scene on scooters.
Authorities fear that unless the culprits are apprehended promptly, the stolen treasures could be dismantled and smuggled abroad. The Louvre remained closed on Monday as investigators continued their inquiries into the theft.
Preliminary findings from the Court of Auditors, set for official release in November, reportedly indicate that one-third of the rooms in the wing targeted by the robbers lack surveillance cameras — a vulnerability that may have facilitated the crime.
“What is certain is that we have failed, since people were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of Paris, get people up it in several minutes to grab priceless jewels, giving France a terrible image,” Justice Minister Darmanin told France Inter radio. He added that he remained confident police would eventually capture the perpetrators.
However, art recovery experts cautioned that if arrests are not made within the next 24 to 48 hours, the stolen jewels could already be “long gone.”
