Overview
- France’s cultural affairs inspector told the Senate that external CCTV filmed the entire raid, yet no one watched live, and said 30 seconds more could have allowed guards or police to stop the thieves.
- The investigation faults leadership and communication, stating a 2019 review that listed Apollo Gallery vulnerabilities was not shared with director Laurence des Cars when she took office in 2021.
- The report describes slow, imprecise alerts from the control room that sent police to the main entrance as the thieves exited via a freight elevator and fled on motor scooters.
- All four suspected perpetrators are in pre-trial detention, the crown jewels valued around €88 million remain unrecovered, and any organizing mastermind has not been identified.
- Employees have announced a strike starting Monday over security and working conditions, following separate scrutiny after a water leak that damaged up to 400 historical documents.