Louvre boss offers to quit as key camera faced wrong direction

French forensics officer examines the cut window and balcony where thieves broke into the Louvre Museum during the £76m jewellery heist (Illustrative image) (Photo by Kiran Ridley/Getty Images) Getty Images

Four masked thieves stole jewels worth £76 million from the Louvre's Apollo Gallery in a brazen seven-minute heist on Sunday morning. Director Laurence des Cars has offered to resign, telling a French Senate committee the raid was a "terrible failure" at the world's most visited museum.

The robbery unfolded between 9:20am and 9:27am as criminals used a flatbed truck with mechanical delivery basket to scale the museum's exterior. They climbed through a first-floor window, smashed glass containers with power tools, and escaped on Yamaha scooters with treasures that once belonged to French royalty and colonial leaders.

Security Failures

The heist succeeded due to a critical security malfunction - the camera monitoring the break-in area was pointing in completely the wrong direction. Des Cars admitted: "Despite our efforts, despite our hard work on a daily basis, we failed. We did not detect the thieves' arrival early enough."

According to the Daily Star, security upgrade plans requiring 40 miles of new electrical cables had not been implemented in time for the heist. Video footage was actually captured by a security guard's mobile phone while official CCTV failed to cover the break-in area.

Culture minister Rachida Dati has launched an administrative inquiry alongside the police investigation. However, she insisted the museum's security apparatus "worked" despite the successful theft.

Investigation Progress

Only an emerald-set imperial crown belonging to Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, has been recovered after thieves dropped it while fleeing. The crown, adorned with more than 1,000 diamonds, was found damaged outside the museum.

Police arrived within minutes of the alarm being triggered, according to interior minister Laurent Nunez. A team of 60 investigators is working on the theory that an organised crime group orchestrated the theft, with CCTV footage under examination.

Recovery Prospects

Art recovery expert Chris Marinello warned authorities face a 48-hour window to locate the stolen items. "If these thieves are not caught, those pieces are probably long gone," he told the BBC on Sunday afternoon.

The Daily Mail reports the stolen jewels, including Empress Eugenie's tiara and Marie-Louise emerald necklace, were uninsured due to massive premium costs. The thieves reportedly used construction work as cover, disguising themselves as workers with hi-vis jackets and helmets.

Sources used: "Mirror", "Daily Star", "Daily Mail", "Express" Note: This article has been created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).