Louvre heist: security guard recounts face-to-face encounter with thieves
Several months after the theft of French Crown jewels from the Louvre Museum, a security officer describes the October morning when she encountered the robbers. The haul, estimated at 88 million euros, remains unfound.
Louvre heist: security guard recounts face-to-face encounter with thieves
In October, the Louvre Museum was the scene of a spectacular heist. Jewels from the French Crown, valued at an estimated 88 million euros, were removed in less than three minutes. Franceinfo has collected the testimony of Sophie, one of five security officers present in the Apollo Gallery at the time of the incident.
The burglars used a service lift and wore high-visibility yellow vests. Sophie found herself directly confronted by the intruders. One of them turned towards her while holding an object that she took to be a chainsaw. She then shouted to her colleagues to move away to frighten the thieves. She remembers repeating twice: "Get away, it's a robbery." Another officer immediately alerted all personnel via walkie-talkie. Visitors were evacuated without anyone really understanding what was happening.
Suspected individuals have since been arrested. Nevertheless, the stolen jewels have not been recovered to date. The affair triggered a media storm that has since subsided. All the officers involved have returned to their posts, although the trauma persists.
Sophie is the only one to have spoken publicly about this event. She recounts that from the outset, surveillance officers were hurt by the accusations, as they usually served as scapegoats. This time, they quickly ceased to be targeted.
When asked about the consequences of the robbery on relations between colleagues, Sophie explains that no criticism emerged within the team. All officers felt as if they had lived through the incident together. Those who were present now share an unbreakable bond. "We have a bond for ever. We lived through an event together and that creates a slightly particular atmosphere," she confides.
This affair constitutes the third theft to which Sophie has been confronted during her career at the Louvre. Approaching retirement, she hopes never to experience such a situation again.
The president of the museum, Christophe Leribault, stated that the establishment was "at the end of its tether" and faced with a "wall of investments".
Source: France Info