France's Macron accepts resignation of Louvre director after October jewel heist

DW News · Feb 24, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday accepted the resignation of the Louvre Museum's director, Laurence des Cars, who had been under fire since thieves stole a stash of priceless jewelry from the museum in a brazen daytime heist last year. But the iconic museum has also been in the spotlight for a series of other negative headlines, including suspicion of large-scale ticket fraud that had been going on for 10 years. The museum has endured several floods that reportedly damaged a ceiling painting and books, and witnessed labor problems. On Wednesday, the French government announced that experienced French art historian Christophe Leribault, the current head of the Palace of Versailles near Paris, would take over from des Cars.Macron's office says resignation of museum director 'act of responsibility' amid changes Macron's office announced Des Cars' resignation in a statement and also praised the move as an "act of responsibility at a time when the world's largest museum needs calm and a strong new impetus to carry out major projects involving security upgrades, modernization" and other initiatives. Des Cars was named director of the Louvre, one of the museum world's most prestigious jobs, in 2021. Des Cars said earlier she would review governance at the famed museumImage: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP Jewel heist that shocked the world The world's most visited museum, with guest numbers of up to 9 million a year, is still reeling from the heist that took place on October 19 during broad daylight. A group of thieves broke in through a window, equipped with power tools like a disc cutter, and stole French crown jewels worth €88 million, or around $102 million. A crane lift mounted on a truck waited outside a window and was brought in to aid with the raid, which took place around 9:30 a.m., when the museum was still opening. Several people have been arrested over the course of the investigation, but the jewels, once worn by France's queens and empresses, have yet to be returned to authorities. French authorities stunned after audacious Louvre theftTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Louvre heist exposes security gaps The Louvre is a historically important museum intertwined with the makings of French society itself. The museum was a royal palace and was opened to the public during the French Revolution. It houses the Mona Lisa, one of the world's most famous pieces of art. France's chief architect of historical monuments told the Associated Press in an interview last year that many museums, especially in Europe, are in historic buildings that were not constructed with the goal of securing art. Des Cars acknowledged last year that the museum had a shortage of security cameras outside the monument and other weaknesses that were exposed during the theft. She had offered to resign on the day of the robbery but the offer was rejected by Culture Minister Rachida Dati. Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah