The director of the Louvre Museum has announced her resignation following a theft of royal regalia at the world-famous museum several months ago, with the stolen items still unrecovered.
Foreign news agencies reported that Laurence des Cars, the Louvre Museum director, submitted her resignation to President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, 24 Feb 2026 GMT+7, just months after the theft of French royal regalia sparked criticism over security measures.
The theft took place on the morning of 19 Oct 2025 GMT+7, when a group of thieves used a truck equipped with a stolen mechanical lift to climb onto the balcony facing the Seine River, then broke into the Galerie d'Apollon to steal royal regalia valued at over 88 million euros (around 3.2 billion baht).
Four main suspects have been apprehended, but the eight precious jewelry pieces remain missing, with experts fearing they may never be recovered.
The stolen items include diamond and emerald necklaces once gifted by Emperor Napoleon to his empress. During their escape, the thieves also dropped and damaged a 19th-century diamond crown belonging to Empress Eugenie.
Earlier this month, the Louvre released images showing the damage to the crown for the first time since the incident, stating that the crown remains "nearly intact" and can be fully restored.
The Louvre houses priceless artworks including Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa." However, shortly after the theft, des Cars admitted that the museum's CCTV system had weaknesses and was "outdated," with the only camera monitoring the break-in point facing away.
Despite attracting over 8.7 million visitors annually, the Louvre's investment in security systems has lagged. Des Cars highlighted the budgetary challenges faced by large institutions, noting in 2021 her desire to double the number of CCTV cameras, a goal yet to be realized.
French authorities have established a parliamentary inquiry to identify the failures that led to the incident, with results expected in May this year. A preliminary report released last week cited "systemic failures" as a key cause of the breach.
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Source:bbc