The esteemed director of Paris’ renowned Louvre Museum is under intense examination following a major security lapse that enabled a daring theft of jewels valued at over $100 million.

In her initial public statement since the incident, Louvre Museum director Laurence des Cars admitted to a “terrible failure” in security measures, stating, “Despite our diligent efforts and daily hard work, we fell short,” as reported by The Guardian.

Des Cars revealed that the museum’s security perimeter was compromised, as the only exterior camera was oriented away from the balcony leading to the gallery housing the jewels. Despite this oversight, all alarms within the museum were operational at the time of the theft, The Guardian reported.

Louvre Museum director Laurence des Cars addressed the public for the first time since the jewel heist during a press briefing on October 22, 2025, held in Paris, France. (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)

According to the BBC, des Cars expressed regret, stating, “We failed these jewels,” and warned that “brutal thieves spare no one — not even the Louvre.”

On Sunday, burglars appeared to use a truck-mounted electric furniture lift to conduct the heist, Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said in an interview with RTL radio, according to The New York Times. She added that the thieves obtained the lift by pretending it was for a move. Additionally, Beccuau noted that it would not be easy for burglars to sell the stolen jewels for what they’re worth if they tear the pieces apart or melt them, according to the Times.

Police secure the area outside the Louvre Museum in Paris, where burglars used a truck-mounted moving lift to reach a second floor window and steal royal jewelry valued at more than $100 million. (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

The thieves got away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. They also stole an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, and a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship — were also part of the loot.

“The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish, for it is our history,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an X post on Sunday. “We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor’s office.”

Forensic police officers arrive at the Louvre Museum after reports of a robbery in Paris, France, on Oct. 19, 2025. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)

The heist has prompted a national reckoning, with some officials comparing the shock to the 2019 burning of Notre Dame cathedral. Beccuau told RTL radio that the team investigating the heist had grown from 60 investigators to 100, underscoring the importance of the case on national and international levels.