The smash-and-grab at the Louvre on Sunday, when masked thieves stole jewels once belonging to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie in broad daylight, is becoming an exponential embarrassment for the museum. With French officials already blushing at the apparent ease of the robbery and a leaked audit suggesting the Louvre’s security systems were “outdated and inadequate,” Emmanuel Macron’s government has now revealed that the loot is not privately insured.
This revelation is particularly painful for the museum because the jewels were valued at $102 million, a Paris prosecutor said on Tuesday. This comes after French authorities claimed they were of “incalculable” value.
The culprits, who are still on the run, broke into the Louvre using a furniture lift to access the first floor. They then cut into display cases and lifted a diamond encrusted broach that belonged to Eugénie, as well as diadems and necklaces. The thieves also got their hands on the empress’s crown but dropped it as they made their escape.
According to the French culture ministry, the country would not be reimbursed for any losses linked to the stolen items if they are not recovered by the police. Officers are continuing to investigate but leads have been thin on the ground.
A culture ministry spokesperson said in a statement first reported by French newspaper Le Parisien: “The state acts as its own insurer when national museums’ works are in their typical place of conservation.”
The French state is usually liable for artworks and objects in its national collection, but museums almost always buy insurance cover when transporting works or lending to another institution. The culture ministry said that the insurance value is “very often higher than the value of acquiring the work.”
Private institutions, like the Pinault Collection or the Fondation Louis Vuitton, for example, typically purchase commercial insurance cover for their collections.
Charlie Horrell, head of fine art at international insurance broker Marsh, told the FT that “for an institution like the Louvre, it’s almost impossible to insure your entire collection.” According to the paper, fine art coverage in London’s speciality insurance market totals around $4 billion.
The FT also reported that several insurance market executives said the Louvre’s collection alone would “overwhelm the market… with treasures ranging from Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to the Great Sphinx of Tanis being almost impossible to value or appraise.”
Laurence des Cars, the Louvre’s director, blamed a “terrible failure” in security at the Paris museum for last weekend’s crown jewel heist while she was being grilled by French senators. She added that she offered her resignation to France’s culture minister, but it was refused. Des Cars acknowledged that staff “did not detect the arrival of the thieves soon enough.”
