Louvre Director Says New Security Plan Was Being Implemented Days Before Heist

"In it, des Cars forcefully pushed back on the idea that she had neglected the museum's security, telling the Times that she had been working on dramatically improving the system this year. Des Cars said that she had already submitted the museum to a broad security review and a new security master plan was devised. The plan called for an additional 100 cameras added to the museum's perimeter, and was in the process of being implemented when the thieves struck last month. Several companies, she told the Times, had already bid on the project."

"However, the Louvre's scale and bureaucracy meant that implementation of the plan was slow moving. "You don't launch an 80 million-euro master plan-because it's more than 80 million euros now-just like that," she said. "There are rules, there are stages in public procurement, there are study phases, there are phases for putting companies into competition." "This is not a private museum. This is a public museum that needs to submit to every control," she added."

A broad security review and a new master plan were devised to upgrade museum security, including adding 100 perimeter cameras and significant investment exceeding 80 million euros. Implementation had begun and several companies had submitted bids, but progress was slowed by the museum's large scale and public procurement procedures requiring multiple study and competitive phases. Emergency anti-intrusion systems are being implemented and will be operational within two weeks. Full installation and activation of the additional cameras are scheduled to be completed by the end of next year, constrained by public controls and administrative stages.

Read at ARTnews.com