In a stunning security move after last week’s brazen daylight robbery, the Louvre Museum has sent some of its most costly jewels to the Bank of France, according to French radio RTL.
RTL says that the transfer happened on Friday with the help of secret police and included pieces from the museum’s Apollo Gallery, which is home to the famous French crown jewels. The decision was made after the theft of many expensive objects showed that the world’s most-visited museum’s security was not very good.
The Bank of France, which is about 500 meters from the Louvre on the Right Bank of the River Seine, has France’s gold reserves in a vault 27 meters (88 ft) underground. This is one of the safest places in the country.
The Louvre and the Bank of France have not yet made official announcements about the claimed transfer.
The $102 Million Theft That Shocked France
On October 19, a group of burglars pulled off an incredibly daring robbery at the Louvre, taking eight priceless items worth an estimated $102 million.
Reports say that the burglars used a crane to smash through a window on the upper floor during visitation hours. They then rode away on motorbikes, getting away from museum security and police in just a few minutes.
French media have called the robbery “a national humiliation” because it happened in broad daylight at one of the world’s most extensively secured cultural icons. This has raised major questions about how museums protect their collections.
The event has led to an internal investigation and a public discussion about how anything like this could happen at a place with high-tech protection and surveillance.
The Louvre’s hasty transfer of its remaining riches shows that protecting national heritage is becoming more important, even though French officials are still looking for the thieves and trying to get back the stolen items.