Paris
AP
—
The thieves who stole more than $100 million worth of treasure from the Louvre in October escaped with just 30 seconds, a French Senate inquiry said Wednesday. Deputies detailed a series of security failures that allowed him to flee in broad daylight.
A parliamentary inquiry ordered after the embarrassing Oct. 19 robbery found that only one of the two cameras covering the point of entry was functional and that security guards did not have enough screens to monitor the footage in real time.
When the alarm finally went off, police were initially sent to the wrong location, investigators told senators.
Noel Corbyn, the head of the investigation, told the House of Commons culture committee: “If they had 30 seconds, security or police could have intercepted them.”
The report also cited aging facilities, unaddressed vulnerabilities identified in previous audits, and a lack of coordination between the Louvre and regulators.
The newspaper said the balcony used by the thieves had been identified as a weak point several years ago, but had not been reinforced.
The findings have increased pressure on the Louvre’s director, Laurence de Cal, who is scheduled to be questioned by lawmakers next week. All four people believed to be on the motorcycle have been arrested, but the missing jewelry, valued at about $102 million, has not yet been recovered.
