The monetary loss from France’s most dramatic heist in a long time has been put at almost €90m as the pinnacle of the Louvre ready to face tough questions over how thieves had been in a position to steal priceless jewellery in broad daylight.
As police continued to seek for the prison gang behind the brazen theft on Sunday, the Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau informed the broadcaster RTL that the museum’s curator had estimated the losses at about €88m (£76m).
The museum’s president and director, Laurence des Vehicles, is anticipated to answer questions from the parliament’s tradition committee on Wednesday afternoon, three days after the seven-minute theft that focused France’s crown jewels.
A gang of 4 thieves compelled their manner into the Louvre’s Apollo gallery shortly after the museum opened on Sunday morning, utilizing a ladder from a furnishings hoist on the road beneath and making off with eight items of Napoleonic jewelry.
It’s unclear whether or not the museum, which shut within the instant aftermath of the theft and remained closed on Monday and Tuesday, will reopen on Wednesday.
Des Vehicles is anticipated to answer questions over the velocity with which the thieves had been in a position to break by a first-floor window, the standard of the show instances that held the jewelry and the obvious lack of a rapid-response unit to discourage the robbers.
Talking to the nationwide meeting on Tuesday, the tradition minister, Rachida Dati, defended the museum and dismissed speculation that the security cameras had not worked properly. “The Louvre museum’s safety equipment didn’t fail, that may be a reality,” she stated. “The Louvre museum’s safety equipment labored.”
She added, nevertheless, {that a} portion of the finances for the Louvre’s renovation would now be devoted to updating its safety system, together with new CCTV cameras.
The museum additionally hit again at claims about its outdated safety setup. Opposite to some stories, it stated, the show instances defending the stolen Napoleonic jewelry had been put in in 2019 and “represented a substantial enchancment when it comes to safety”.
Paris prosecutors have charged a specialised unit referred to as the BRB with investigating the crime. The 100-strong pressure offers with high-profile robberies such because the armed holdup of the truth TV star Kim Kardashian in a Paris resort in 2016.
Investigators from the Central Workplace for the Battle in opposition to Trafficking in Cultural Property are additionally anticipated to be concerned.
It isn’t recognized how, the place or whether or not the jewels will resurface. Beccuau informed RTL: “The wrongdoers who took these gems received’t earn €88m if that they had the very dangerous concept of disassembling these jewels. We will maybe hope that they’ll take into consideration this and received’t destroy these jewels with out rhyme or cause.″
