The Louvre failed to spot a gang of thieves early enough to stop the theft of €88m (£76m) worth of French crown jewels, the museum's director has revealed.
Laurence des Cars, speaking publicly for the first time since the heist on Sunday, told French senators that CCTV around the Louvre's perimeter was weak and aging.
The only camera monitoring the exterior wall of the Louvre where they broke in was pointing away from the first-floor balcony that led to Gallery of Apollo housing the jewels, she said.
We failed these jewels, she said, adding that no-one was protected from brutal criminals - not even the Louvre.
Ministers have given press conferences and interviews and denied security failings, but des Cars cut through that and admitted the Louvre had been defeated.
Her words gave an extraordinary insight into the difficulty of securing the world's most visited museum, and how bad its security really was.
The CCTV system outside the Louvre was very unsatisfactory she said and inside, some areas were simply too old to adapt to modern technologies.
Despite the museum's huge volume of visitors - 8.7 million last year alone - investment in security has been slow and she highlighted the budget challenges big institutions face.
Des Cars, who became director of the Louvre in 2021, said she wanted to double the number of CCTV cameras.
She said she was warned about how obsolete the equipment at the Louvre was when she took the job, in contrast to the modern equipment of the Musée d'Orsay, where she had worked previously.
Some of the senators she faced at Wednesday's hearing expressed incredulity at the Louvre's security, asking why there was just one camera - on the external wall facing the river - and why it was pointing the wrong way.
That single failure meant that the lorry carrying the gang and their mechanical ladder, used to reach the gallery's first floor, was not spotted at all as it arrived at the foot of the Gallery of Apollo.
There is a weakness at the Louvre and I acknowledge it completely, des Cars told the senators.
She praised security guards who she said acted quickly to evacuate the building as soon as they were aware there had been an intrusion, but she conceded: We did not spot the arrival of the thieves early enough... the weakness of our perimeter protection is known.
The museum has since reopened, although the gallery remains closed while a search continues for the gang of four who orchestrated the theft of several historical jewels, including those gifted to Empress Eugenie and Napoleon's wife.
Des Cars has taken responsibility for the heist, revealing that she tendered her resignation but was refused.
Future security upgrades are planned, targeted to begin in 2026, though challenges persist due to the museum's historical infrastructure.
