Daylight robbery prompts Louvre to transfer treasures to underground vault

• The Louvre moved its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France after a daylight robbery.
• A secret police escort transferred the treasures 500 meters from the museum on Friday.
• The jewels are stored in the Bank’s “Souterraine” vault, 26 meters underground.

Following a dramatic daylight robbery that exposed serious security flaws, the Louvre has moved some of its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France for safekeeping.

On Friday, a secret police escort oversaw the transfer of the remaining treasures to the Bank, located approximately 500 meters from the museum, according to French media. The jewels are now stored in the Bank’s most secure vault, known as the “Souterraine,” 26 meters below the headquarters in central Paris.

The vault, which houses 90 percent of France’s gold reserves along with Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and other national treasures, is estimated to hold assets worth 600 million euros (nearly USD 700 million). The Bank describes it as impervious to all attacks, with a 50cm-thick, seven-tonne flame-resistant concrete door reinforced with steel, and a 35-tonne rotating concrete turret “preventing any possibility of forced entry.”

Last Sunday, masked thieves exploited vulnerabilities in the Louvre’s security to raid the Gallery of Apollo, home to France’s crown jewels. Using an angle grinder, the gang smashed through a reinforced window and, within eight minutes, stole several priceless items, including a necklace that belonged to Empress Marie-Louise, wife of Napoleon, and a diadem worn by Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, valued at €88 million (USD 102 million). The robbers reportedly used a mechanical ladder mounted on a lorry to reach a first-floor balcony and gain entry.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez expressed confidence that the perpetrators will be caught.

While French officials maintain that museum security functioned correctly on the day of the heist, Louvre Director Laurence des Cars has highlighted the “weak and aging” infrastructure. Speaking to lawmakers on Wednesday, des Cars noted that the only security camera covering the exterior wall where the break-in occurred was facing the wrong way.