A museum employee with knowledge of the system revealed that absurdly simply, easily-breakable password. President and director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, testified that the camera outside the gallery where the precious gems were stolen was pointing the wrong way and "did not cover the window where the thieves used power tools to break in and exit," per ABC.
While the alarms worked, Des Cars said, there was also a "weakness" in the external, perimeter security measures and this, he said, was "due to underinvestment." He said further that "The security system, as installed in the Apollo Gallery, worked perfectly. The question that arises is how to adapt this system to a new type of attack and modus operandi that we could not have foreseen."
"Today," Des Cars said, "we are witnessing a terrible failure at the Louvre. The security of the Louvre is one of my top priorities during my term of office, and I repeat that I was appalled by the museum's security situation when I arrived in 2021."
The jewels have not been recovered. Four suspects are in custody while another is still being sought. Of those in custody, three are men and one is a woman. The woman is being charged as an accomplice.
Two of the men who have been charged as part of the heist team were convicted in a theft case in 2015. One of the suspects is a 34-year-old Algerian national who was apprehended at Charles de Gaulle airport holding a one-way ticket to Algeria.
A 39-year-old was arrested in the immigrant neighborhood of Aubervilliers. He was also known to police prior to the robbery. A 37-year-old man was also charged, and he had 11 prior convictions, 10 of them for theft. The woman who was arrested is his partner.
