Security measures will be tightened around France’s cultural institutions after a major jewellery heist at the Louvre museum in Paris on Sunday, advisers for the country’s interior minister have said.
The decision was made on Monday after a meeting with police and ministers, including Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
It comes after the justice minister said security protocols "failed" in preventing the heist, giving France a "terrible image".
Thieves wielding power tools broke into the world’s most-visited museum in broad daylight, stealing eight items described as being of inestimable value, before escaping on scooters.
There are fears that unless the thieves are caught quickly, the priceless items – including a diamond and emerald necklace Emperor Napoleon gave to his wife – will be broken up and smuggled out of the country.
The museum announced it would be staying closed on Monday while investigations continued.
French media report that a preliminary assessment by the Court of Auditors (due to be published in November) said a third of the rooms in the wing where the robbery took place have no surveillance cameras.
"What is certain is that we have failed, since people were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of Paris, get people up it in several minutes to grab priceless jewels, giving France a terrible image," Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin told France Inter radio.
He added that he was certain police would eventually arrest the thieves.
But the head of an organisation specialising in the location and recovery of stolen artworks warned that if the thieves are not caught in the next 24 to 48 hours, the stolen jewellery will likely be "long gone".
"There is a race going on right now," Chris Marinello, the chief executive of Art Recovery International, told BBC World Service’s Newshour programme.
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