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- The world’s most visited museum, whose extensive collection includes the Mona Lisa, last year welcomed nine million people to its extensive hallways and galleries
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron Wednesday ordered stepped-up security measures at the Louvre, as the Paris museum reopened its doors days after a shocking daytime heist.
The reopening comes hours before the museum’s director is set to face a grilling by senators to explain how thieves made off with an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) in jewels from the world-famous museum.
The heist has renewed scrutiny of security measures in French museums, after two were hit by thefts last month.
During a Wednesday meeting of cabinet ministers, Macron ordered a “speeding up” of security measures at the Louvre, government spokeswoman Maude Bregeon said.
Scores of investigators are looking for the culprits, working on the theory that it was an organized crime group that clambered up a ladder on a truck to break into the museum, then dropped a diamond-studded crown as they fled.
The investigation “is progressing”, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told local media on Wednesday, saying “more than 100 investigators” had been mobilized.
“I have full confidence, that’s for sure, that we will find the perpetrators,” he said.
The thieves made off with eight pieces, including an emerald-and-diamond necklace that Napoleon I gave his wife Empress Marie-Louise and a diadem that once belonged to the Empress Eugenie, which is dotted with nearly 2,000 diamonds.
Calling the financial loss “extraordinary”, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the greater damage was to France’s historical heritage.
Disappointed tourists were turned away at the entrance of the Louvre in the heart of Paris in the days following the theft.
But on Wednesday, museum-goers flocked to the institution for the 9:00 a.m. (07:00 GMT) opening, though the Apollo Gallery — scene of Sunday’s theft — remained closed.
“We’re happy it’s reopening today because we have our tickets booked,” said Nora Contract, a US tourist visiting with her husband, Jonathan.
The world’s most visited museum, whose extensive collection includes the Mona Lisa, last year welcomed nine million people to its extensive hallways and galleries.