The Louvre and French Cultural Diplomacy

The recent burglary at the Louvre in October 2025 is a severe blow to French cultural diplomacy and highlights a possible negligence in the operation of France’s most famous museum, requiring a swift response to limit the damage to its reputation.

The Burglary

On 19 October 2025, just minutes after the museum opened, four perpetrators entered the Louvre using a freight elevator to access the first floor of the Galerie d’Apollon. They attacked the display cases containing the French Crown Jewels and escaped with eight exceptional pieces, including Empress Eugénie’s tiara set with no fewer than 2,000 diamonds. By the end of October, seven individuals had been arrested, but the stolen jewels have still not been recovered. The case has now become a matter of state, and President Emmanuel Macron has affirmed that the jewels will be found and that the museum’s security will be reassessed.

The humiliation felt by France in the wake of this burglary is compounded by the fact that the thieves do not appear to be seasoned criminals; they may, in fact, be amateurs. It was not Arsène Lupin who stole the Crown Jewels, but rather “Doudou Cross Bitume,” a motocross enthusiast who posted his videos on YouTube and TikTok. The incident was reported by media outlets worldwide and has affected the image of both the Louvre and the city of Paris as a whole.

Museum Security

The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, welcoming nearly 8.9 million visitors. Ensuring optimal security is becoming increasingly difficult given the influx of visitors and the museum’s aging infrastructure, parts of which have remained largely unchanged for nearly two centuries. Major museums also face threats from certain environmental activists seeking to raise public awareness of the climate crisis by targeting artworks. The Louvre has not been spared this trend: in January 2024, two activists threw soup at the museum’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa—fortunately without causing any damage.

Other Challenges Facing the Louvre

Unfortunately, the Paris museum suffers from several issues beyond overcrowding, which affects many museums worldwide. The Louvre has experienced multiple closures due to labor disputes—staff strikes—a deeply frustrating situation for foreign visitors, for whom a visit to the Louvre is a highlight of their stay in Paris. While the rooms housing the museum’s most iconic pieces, such as the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, remain open to the public, it is very common for other rooms to be closed, often without prior notice. This penalizes the most passionate visitors who wish to explore the museum’s vast collections in depth.

These closures may be due to maintenance work, safety issues caused by delayed renovations, staffing shortages, or high absenteeism among reception staff—all of which diminish the quality of the visitor experience.

What Response Is Needed?

The worst possible response to this burglary would be to look the other way and avoid introspection. During her hearing before the parliamentary Cultural Affairs Committee, the Louvre’s President and Director, Laurence des Cars—who has served since 2021 and whose resignation was rejected by the President of the Republic and the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati—pointed to the museum’s security shortcomings, particularly the lack of cameras. Nevertheless, the museum’s management maintained that the display cases—cut open by the burglars using an angle grinder—were an improvement over the previous ones replaced in 2019. According to a report by the Cour des Comptes, the museum invested only €3 million in implementing its security master plan for the period 2018–2024, an exceptionally low amount. The Minister of Culture stated that this constituted a clear failure of the museum’s security system.

Yet, in January 2025, President Macron announced a €700 million, ten-year renovation plan to transform the Louvre, including the creation of a dedicated entrance and gallery for the Mona Lisa. The President understood the museum’s importance to France’s cultural influence strategy and sought to improve the visitor experience.

In response to the theft, new security cameras have been ordered. The near-absence of video surveillance around the museum’s exterior was heavily criticized. One hundred new cameras are expected to be installed soon, and a police station is also set to open inside the museum to ensure faster response times.

Resources to Match Ambition

This burglary and the Louvre’s security issues are not inevitable. When it commits the necessary resources, France is capable of meeting the challenges it faces. The organization of the 2024 Olympic Games, for example, can be considered a success despite widespread concerns over security prior to the event.

Similarly, after the tragic fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2019, Paris committed the resources needed to rebuild the monument on schedule. President Macron vowed that the restoration would be completed in five years—and he kept his word. In the case of securing the Louvre and other major Parisian museums, both financial and human resources will need to match the political will expressed by the President.

The Issue of Restitutions

However, this theft may weaken France’s position in ongoing negotiations regarding the restitution of artworks to foreign museums. States seeking the return of pieces currently held in the Louvre or other French museums may use the burglary as a pretext to accelerate restitution efforts, arguing that artifacts are not safe in French institutions due to inadequate security.