Louvre reopens for first time after jewel heist

“We were really hoping it would be open. We had booked for today, and we wouldn’t have had another chance to come,” said one visitor, Fanny, who travelled from the south of the country with her daughter.

The world’s most visited museum, last year it welcomed nine million people to its extensive hallways and galleries.

The theft reignited a row over the lack of security in French museums, after two other institutions were hit last month.

The investigation “is progressing”, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told local media on Wednesday, saying “more than a hundred investigators” had been mobilised.

“I have full confidence, that’s for sure, that we will find the perpetrators,” he said.

Museum director Laurence des Cars has not made any public statement since the theft and is set to appear before the Senate’s culture committee from 4.30pm local time on Wednesday.

Des Cars, who became the first woman to run the Louvre in 2021, is expected to be questioned about security at the Apollo Gallery, which houses the royal collection of gems.

The museum on Tuesday hit back at criticism that the display cases protecting the stolen jewellery were fragile, saying they were installed in 2019 and “represented a considerable improvement in terms of security”.