French MPs Alexis Corbière and Alexandre Portier have released a parliamentary report accusing the Louvre of prioritizing "prestige and influence" over security, leading to a brazen jewel heist on October 19, 2025. Thieves entered the museum in broad daylight and stole nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million in under eight minutes. The report, based on over 20 hearings with 100 insiders, reveals that security had been "relegated to the background" despite audits in 2017 and 2019, and that a Security Equipment Master Plan from 2019 was not implemented in time by former director Jean-Luc Martinez. The report also casts doubt on President Emmanuel Macron's nearly $1 billion renovation plan for the Louvre, announced nine months before the heist.
The report matters because it exposes systemic security failures at the world's most-visited museum and calls for structural reforms, including electing museum directors by boards rather than presidential decree, boosting the new Security Fund beyond its current $35 million endowment, and better staffing the Ministry of Culture's security mission. The heist was one of the defining art-world events of 2025, and the parliamentary findings could reshape how French national museums balance prestige with public safety. The report also follows the resignations of Louvre director Laurence de Cars and culture minister Rachida Dati earlier this year.