In the spectacular robbery on October 19, the four thieves parked a truck with a height-adjustable lift under one of the windows and then used angle grinders to enter a gallery on the first floor.
Urgent measures are now needed to address the security situation at one of the world's most famous and well-visited museums, writes Le Monde .
"For more than 20 years, there has been a chronic underestimation of the risks of intrusion and theft at the Louvre. We cannot continue like this," Rachida Dati told the television channel TF1.
The report describes inadequate security equipment and "completely outdated" protocols for handling intrusions. According to Dati, the museum's internal security system was functioning on the day of the theft, but that there were "major security deficiencies" outside the building.
Even the Louvre's CEO Laurence des Cars has admitted that the camera surveillance was flawed with "insufficient coverage". The only camera installed on the relevant side of the building was facing away from the balcony through which the thieves entered.
The stolen jewels – worth the equivalent of just over 960 million kronor – have not yet been recovered.
