Reuters. France's Louvre Museum began a security audit a decade ago but the recommended upgrades will not be completed until 2032, the state auditor said in a report on Thursday (November 6) compiled before a spectacular heist there last month.
The daylight robbery, in which four robbers made off with jewels worth $102 million, raised doubts over the credibility of the world's most-visited museum as a guardian for its myriad works. Officials have admitted security was not up to scratch.
While investigators have charged four suspects for involvement in the raid, the treasures have yet to be recovered.
Only 39% of the museum's rooms had cameras as of 2024, the report said, and a security audit begun in 2015, which found the museum was not sufficiently monitored or prepared for a crisis, only led to a tender for security works at the end of last year.
The head of the state auditing agency, the Cour des Comptes, Pierre Moscovici, told journalists on Thursday that the Louvre has enough financial resources to push through with the modernisation of the museum's infrastructure.
"The paradox is that the Louvre has money. No one can say that the Louvre is a victim of an insufficiency of resources or impoverishment.," Moscovici said.
"Our first message is to clearly put in order the priorities and the investments, which are considerable, and put forward everything in relation to infrastructure, security and safety," he added.
Moscovici said his agency found that most of the museum's budget was focused on acquiring new objects, although only one in four pieces acquired since 2018 has been put on display for the public.
The report also provided 10 recommendations including a drop in the number of acquisitions by the museum, an increase in its ticket prices and a refurbishment of its digital infrastructure and governance.
