Imagine waking up to find France’s most treasured jewels snatched in a brazen eight-minute heist at the Louvre Museum, as Daily Mail reports.
On a quiet Sunday morning, thieves pulled off what many are calling the theft of the decade, stealing eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels from the iconic museum in Paris.
The incident, which unfolded in the opulent Apollo Gallery, saw priceless artifacts like the emerald-laden crown of Empress Eugénie and a sapphire necklace from Queen Marie-Amélie vanish in under four minutes.
Security footage captured a suspicious figure in a yellow jacket lingering near a glass case in the gallery that morning, hinting at the audacity of the operation.
Alarms blared as the break-in unfolded, and five staff members rushed to enact protocols, but the thieves were already gone, leaving a stunned museum in their wake.
Outside, the emerald crown of Empress Eugénie was later discovered, a small crumb of hope amid a devastating loss of cultural heritage.
Evidence at the scene, including motorcycles with license plates, offers a sliver of a trail, while security officers heroically thwarted an attempt by one criminal to torch a basket lift.
The quick thinking of those officers preserved critical clues, but it’s cold comfort when the heart of France’s history has been pilfered under the noses of those tasked to protect it.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has since ordered a nationwide review of security at cultural sites, a reaction that feels like locking the barn door after the horse has bolted.
At the center of the storm is Dominique Buffin, the Louvre’s first female security chief, appointed last year by Laurence Des Cars, the museum’s first female director.
Both women now face intense calls to step down, with critics arguing that prioritizing progressive hiring policies may have compromised competence in safeguarding national treasures.
Marion Maréchal, leader of the far-right Identity–Liberties party, didn’t mince words, stating, “Rachida Dati must demand the immediate resignation of the museum’s director Laurence Des Cars and the security chief Dominique Buffin, whom she appointed... as part of a feminisation policy.”
While Buffin’s background with the police and the Ministry of Culture suggests experience, the optics of this disaster fuel a narrative that merit took a backseat to agenda-driven appointments.
Let’s be fair—security audits were requested by Des Cars back in 2021, with updates to outdated systems just starting to roll out, but why did it take a catastrophe to expose these glaring vulnerabilities?
