Louvre beefs up security after crown jewel stolen, installs bars on infamous window

A crane was parked in front of the Louvre museum in Paris on Tuesday, but this time it was not being used by jewel thieves steal some of the nation’s historic treasures.

Instead, the machine was operated by maintenance workers wearing hard hats and high-visibility vests while a crew installed metal bars at the now-infamous second-story window.

On October 19, a team of thieves posing as workers used a freight elevator to force open this window. Thieves entered the museum’s Apollo gallery and smashed open display cases to steal nine jewels. The four suspected thieves were arrested and chargedbut none of the jewelry were recovered except for a crown that fell when the group escaped.

The theft exposed security flaws at the world’s most visited museum. A recent security audit revealed that 35% of the rooms in the Denon wing, where the stolen jewelry was displayed, are not monitored by security cameras, according to Radio France. The gemstones were also not privately insured, compliant with French law.

More security improvements are coming, the museum director said in November. Installation of new anti-intrusion systems was expected to begin in early December, while more than 100 new cameras are expected to be operational by the end of 2026, CBS News previously reported.

The Louvre has not publicly commented on Tuesday’s security operation. Samuel Lasnel, of elevator maintenance company Grima-Nacelles, said he and his team arrived before dawn Tuesday to carry out the high-profile mission to secure the windows.

“We’ve worked at the Louvre before – inside, outside, inside and outside the pyramid – we’ve been here several times,” he told the Associated Press. “The Louvre knows us well.”