Louvre Jewel Heist Shock: Security Password Was Just ‘Louvre’

The Louvre Museum is facing mounting criticism after a shocking revelation that the password protecting its video surveillance system during last month’s $102 million jewel heist was simply “Louvre.”

A museum employee familiar with the system disclosed the weak security measure, which has raised serious questions about how such a high-profile theft could occur at one of the world’s most famous museums.

During testimony before a French Senate committee, Louvre President and Director Laurence des Cars admitted that the only external camera near the targeted Apollo Gallery faced the wrong direction—away from the window the thieves used to break in and escape with the jewels.

“All alarms and cameras were functioning,” des Cars said, but she acknowledged a “weakness” in the museum’s perimeter defenses caused by years of underinvestment.

Investigators reported that the entire operation—from break-in to getaway—lasted just seven minutes, with the thieves using a truck-mounted cherry picker to access and exit the gallery.

“The system installed in the Apollo Gallery worked perfectly,” des Cars told lawmakers. “The question is how to adapt our security to new types of attacks we could not have anticipated.”

Despite insisting the system functioned as designed, she admitted, “We are witnessing a terrible failure at the Louvre. Improving museum security remains one of my top priorities, and I was shocked by the state of it when I arrived in 2021.”

Authorities have yet to recover the stolen jewels. Four suspects have been charged so far, but at least one person remains at large.

In an interview with Franceinfo, Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said investigators are pursuing “all avenues,” with recent arrests leading to new searches and the seizure of potential evidence.

The suspects in custody do not appear to be part of an organized crime ring. Two of them—a 39-year-old taxi driver and a 34-year-old deliveryman and garbage collector—were identified through DNA left at the scene. The garbage collector was caught at Charles de Gaulle Airport while attempting to board a one-way flight to Algeria.

Two others, a 37-year-old man and his 38-year-old partner from northern Paris, have also been charged. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities race to track down the missing jewels and any additional suspects behind the audacious heist.