US EditionLouvre director resigns months after jewel heist in Paris
Laurence des Cars resigned amid criticism over security failures after an €88 million jewel theft and multiple scandals at the Louvre, which draws around nine million visitors annually.
- On Feb 24, 2026, French President Emmanuel Macron accepted Laurence des Cars' resignation, the Elysée announced.
- Laurence des Cars had faced intense criticism after last year's high‑profile jewel theft and previously offered her resignation to Culture Minister Rachida Dati, which was initially rejected.
- Prosecutors say thieves entered the Apollo Gallery and in under eight minutes stole 88 million euros in October, with DNA evidence from a helmet linking suspects; two men are in custody and two remain at large.
- Macron described the step as `an act of responsibility`, saying the museum needs calm and a strong new impetus for security and modernization projects, while the Elysée entrusted Laurence des Cars with a G7 museums cooperation mission.
- After a year marked by strikes and staff complaints, the Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024, underscoring governance and security challenges, the presidency said des Cars' resignation was `an act of responsibility`.
326 Articles
326 Articles
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Louvre director resigns in wake of jewel heist
The director of the Louvre resigned in the wake of a $100 million jewel heist. Laurence des Cars was appointed in 2021 and had planned an ambitious refurbishment of the world’s most-visited museum, but a series of mishaps even before the theft of several Napoleonic-era crown jewels undermined her position. Among them was an apparent decade-long fraud involving bribes to museum employees, reusing tickets multiple times, and splitting up large gro…
After the jewel theft, strikes and breakdowns, the head of the Louvre cleared the way for a change of leadership. The new beginning is now to succeed with a director who already knows the house.
The jewel theft and other abuses led to the resignation of the Louvre boss. Now she has a successor who is not unknown in the Paris cultural scene.
Last October, a massive jewel heist at the Louvre came under fire, with Laurence des Cars, the director of one of the world's most famous museums, resigning on Tuesday.
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