A critical state audit, compiled before last month’s spectacular USD 102 million jewel heist
The Louvre Museum, the world’s most visited museum, has been sharply criticised in a new state auditor’s report for chronic delays and underinvestment in security infrastructure, long before the recent daylight robbery of USD 102 million in jewels.
The report, published Thursday by the national audit office (Cour des Comptes), states that a security audit initiated in 2015 warned the museum was not adequately monitored or prepared for a crisis. However, the resulting tender for security works was only launched at the end of last year.
“It will take several years to complete the project, which, according to the museum, is not expected to be finished until 2032,” the audit stated.
Chronic Under-investment Exposed
The delay in modernizing security infrastructure is particularly alarming given the details exposed in the report:
As of 2024, only 39 per cent of the museum’s rooms had cameras.
The museum suffers from “chronic under-investment in information systems.”
Its internal control functions are “underdeveloped for an institution the size of the Louvre.”
The state auditor attributed the inability to prioritize security upgrades to several factors, including: excessive spending to buy artwork (only a quarter of which is exhibited publicly), post-pandemic relaunch projects, and operational inefficiencies such as ticket fraud.
‘Deafening Alarm Bell’
The report’s release follows a sensational robbery last month where four suspects made off with jewels worth $102 million. While four people have been charged, the treasures have yet to be recovered. French officials had already admitted following the theft that security was not up to standard.
Pierre Moscovici, head of the Cour des Comptes, emphasized that the recent theft only reinforces the audit’s findings.
“The theft of the crown jewels was without a doubt a deafening alarm bell,” Moscovici told journalists. “This pace [of security upgrades] is far from sufficient. The authorities are now realising that they have heard these alarm bells.”
Moscovici noted that the Louvre has sufficient funds for the necessary upgrades and “now it must do so without fail.”
The audit provided ten recommendations, including a decrease in art acquisitions, an increase in ticket prices, and a refurbishment of the museum’s digital infrastructure and governance. In response to the robbery, French officials have already promised to introduce extra security measures, including anti-intrusion devices and anti-vehicle ramming barriers on nearby roads, by the end of this year.
