Is anyone to blame for Louvre security debacle?published at 16:20 BST
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Obviously, the answer is yes. Quite simply France’s crown jewels should not be stolen from the nation’s most storied museum half an hour after opening time on a Sunday.
And yet, there has been a curious refusal to admit failings, unless you count Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin’s admission that “what is certain is that we have failed”.
But the people most directly responsible – and they don’t include Darmanin – have been more reticent about failings.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has admitted there was a failure, although he asserted: “The alarm system worked perfectly, as
soon as the window was attacked, it was activated.
“Police were
notified, and within three minutes they were on the scene. The
whole system worked, it didn’t fail, but what happened has
happened.”
Culture Minister Rachida Dati says the same: “Were the security measures at the Louvre Museum faulty? No, they were not.”
The French public will be looking for more concrete explanations than that.
