On Tuesday, the head of the Louvre Museum of fame in Paris, Laurence des Cars, stepped down after last year’s heist dubbed the ‘heist of the century’ saw the theft of the crown jewels worth an equivalent of 88 million (100 million) dollars.
French President Macron Accepts Resignation Of Louvre Museum Director Following ‘Heist Of The Century’
The French President, Emmanuel Macron, affirmed that he accepted her resignation, with her move being a responsible one at a time when the largest museum in the world badly needs to be stable and at the same time with a new powerful force as she did as per an Elysee Palace statement. Her first resignation to Culture Minister Rachida Dati immediately after the robbery which targeted the Apollo Gallery of the museum had been rejected at the time by Des Cars. In the aftermath of the event, Des Cars confessed that the security infrastructure at the museum was in extremely poor condition, making the mechanisms available to keep an eye on the most valuable treasures of France as a terrible observation to make, much less in an institution of the scale of the Louvre. The museum, which attracted 8.7 million tourism visitors in 2024, with 13 percent of them coming from the United States, came under increasing criticism regarding its capability to protect invaluable artifacts. The loss of the high-profile theft revealed the weak sides in the work of the museum and posed questions regarding security measures in one of the most popular cultural museums in the world.
What Did French President Macron Say?
President Macron in his statement showed appreciation of the years of service and scientific experience of Des Cars and said that she would now assume a new position in the context of G7 presidency in France, which is based on cooperation between the major museums of the countries involved. This resignation follows a tough year at the Louvre with strike action that also affected the overcrowding and understaffing as well as harsh conditions of work. The heist made the museum close to visitors temporarily as the authorities were carrying out their investigations in the area, which reflected the pressing necessity of implementing changes in order to achieve not only security but also operational stability in the future.
