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Some 100 surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems are set to be installed at the Louvre Museum as part of increased security measures following the theft of France’s crown jewels last month, reported the Associated Press.
The anti-intrusion systems will go into effect within the next two weeks, while the surveillance cameras are expected to be running by the end of next year, the museum announced Wednesday.
The equipment will prevent intruders from getting close to the museum, but Louvre director Laurence des Cars did not provide further details; the surveillance cameras will monitor the exterior of the building to ensure “complete protection of the museum’s surroundings,” she said.
“After the shock, after the emotion, after the assessment, it’s time for action,” des Cars told the Committee of Cultural Affairs of the National Assembly.
The news follows a major announcement about the Louvre’s updated security plan made earlier this month. More than 20 emergency measures will be implemented across the museum according to the plan.
Des Cars also revealed that the disc cutters the robbers used to break through the glass cases, traditionally intended for concrete, was “a method that had not been imagined at all” when the museum replaced the display cases in the Apollo Gallery in 2019, she said.
She added that the display cases “held up remarkably well and did not break apart,” during the robbery. “Videos show how difficult it was for the thieves.”
As part of its decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan launched earlier this year, the museum is now expected to focus on modernizing its infrastructure for security measures and to accommodate the sheer volume of visitors.
“The extensive modernization that the Louvre underwent in the 1980s is now technically obsolete, with equipment that has been overperforming for 40 years,” des Cars said. This year, for example, the Louvre received more than 8 million visitors, despite restrictions placed by des Car on the number of daily visitors at 30,000 people per day.
Earlier this week on Monday, the Louvre temporarily closed some of its employee offices and the Campana Gallery due to structural weaknesses found in some of the building’s beams.