At the Louvre, security is "not in line with what one would expect from a museum"

The president of the Senate Culture Committee, Laurent Lafon, said on Tuesday, following a tour of the Louvre's security facilities, that the establishment's security was "not in line with what we would expect from a museum today . " "There are many improvements to be made," the centrist senator told the press, surrounded by a delegation, on the museum's forecourt. "The security organization is not in line with what we would expect from a museum today, and it is essential to finally carry out the necessary work, whether on the network or the video security equipment," he added.

Eight French crown jewels , estimated at €88 million, were stolen in a matter of minutes from the Louvre Museum on October 19. To shed light on the incredible burglary, the Senate Culture Committee questioned its president, Laurence des Cars, for more than two hours on October 22. She acknowledged flaws in the museum's exterior video surveillance system: "We did not detect the arrival of the thieves sufficiently in advance." She also noted "significant concerns regarding the location of security posts within the museum, which are aging."

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The delegation of senators "saw a site PC and the central PC" and went to the Apollo Gallery, where the theft took place, Laurent Lafon said. "For reasons of confidentiality, we will not go into detail about what we saw. But we come away from this visit with the firm conviction that it is now necessary to implement this security master plan as quickly as possible," a plan to secure the Louvre costing 80 million euros and currently being rolled out, he added.

On Tuesday afternoon, the committee will hear from Rachida Dati as part of the general debate on the finance bill. However, senators have already made it clear that they expect the Minister of Culture to provide details on the resources allocated to museum security within this framework.