Overview
- The museum resumed normal operations Friday after staff halted a two‑day walkout, with the ministry scrapping a €5.7 million cut and signaling new hires and pay increases while unions kept up pressure.
- Four suspects are in pretrial detention and the stolen jewels, valued at about €800,000, have not been recovered after a daylight entry through a window off a freight elevator route.
- Director Laurence des Cars told senators the museum is in a crisis and poorly organized on security, while former director Jean‑Luc Martinez cited a risk map and a delayed master security plan.
- Earlier official reports in 2017 and 2019 had identified the very window later exploited; a Senate committee leader challenged the fire‑safety rationale for leaving it weak, and protective bars are due to be reinstated.
- The government tapped Notre‑Dame rebuilding official Philippe Jost to propose a deep reorganization, and a new TV documentary features experts who doubt the jewels will surface and describe the robbers as inexperienced.