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The video shows how the thieves made it in and out of the museum’s Apollo Gallery almost seamlessly with the nation’s crown jewels.
It’s been three months since the monumental jewel heist at the Musée du Louvre astonished the world, and the CCTV footage from inside the museum on that fateful day has been revealed to the public at last. Released on the investigative broadcast television program Complément d’Enquête on France TV, the three-minute clip shows how two thieves made it in and out of the museum’s Apollo Gallery almost seamlessly with the nation’s crown jewels.
The clip begins with a group of around five security guards clustered at the threshold of the evacuated gallery, inching closer and then quickly scattering as the first thief managed to burst in through the window with a portable circular saw. Covered head-to-toe in all black and donning a hi-vis construction vest, he beelined to the central display cases holding the jewels, quickly followed by his accomplice, who climbed in right behind him.
As the two robbers started sawing through the cases, one of the guards reemerged holding a stanchion, a metal bar typically used to hold a rope for crowd control. Another guard took it from him and held it like a bat, appearing to attempt scaring off the thieves, but ultimately ditched the plan and rejoined the other staff and left the room.
Simultaneously nonplussed and determined, the first of the two thieves used his hands to smash through the protective glass, grabbed the jewelry, and stowed the pieces in his pockets before he assisted the second thief at the next display case. (What do airlines always say? Put your oxygen mask on first before helping others.)
As the pair scurried toward the window they entered from, a crown and another piece of jewelry tumbled out from the first thief’s pockets. He picked them up again, and the two were out of the window as quickly as they came, descending to ground level in the stolen basket crane that the group used to facilitate the heist.
So far, multiple people have been arrested in alleged connection with the heist. The initial two suspects taken into custody have reportedly “partially admitted” to their involvement in the robbery. The stolen jewels have not been recovered.
In addition to the exposure of the woefully outdated security system at the Louvre, security staff have been lambasted online for not intervening in the robbery. The museum has emphasized that they’re trained to prioritize visitor safety and are neither equipped nor expected to confront during an attack or burglary.
The release of the footage coincides with the ongoing union strikes at the museum that have led to partial and full-on closures at the institution, where workers are calling for better pay and more staffing.