Now former thief claims he warned Louvre bosses security was inadequate
Just days after eight pieces of the French crown jewels were stolen from the Louvre, a former bank robber has revealed he previously warned a museum official about critical security flaws.
David Desclos, a self-confessed professional who “knew how to make alarms go quiet,” highlighted the vulnerability of jewel cases positioned by streetside windows, describing them as “a piece of cake” to attack.
Mr Desclos, now reformed, told The Associated Press outside I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid that he flagged these issues years ago.
His insights were sought by the Louvre itself for a 2020 in-house podcast discussing a historic 1792 theft, where he was invited to the Apollo Gallery to offer his expert opinion.
“Have you seen those windows? They’re a piece of cake. You can imagine anything — people in disguise, slipping in through the windows,” he said, recounting that he told a senior official involved in the Louvre’s podcast production — not the museum director — about the risk. “Through the windows — even from the roofs — there are plenty of ways in.”
Then came Sunday’s heist.
Authorities say two thieves in high-visibility jackets smashed through a window of the Apollo Gallery and used power tools to cut open cases. Eight crown-jewel items — valued in some reports at more than $100 million — disappeared in minutes. A ninth piece, Empress Eugénie’s diamond-studded crown, was found on the ground outside the museum, damaged but salvageable. Two suspects have been arrested; others remain at large.
“Exactly what I had predicted,” Desclos said. “They came by the windows … they came, they took, and they left.”
Timing, he argues, was part of the trick. “Do it in broad daylight, at opening time — that disables the first alarm layer… You know you’ve got five to seven minutes before police arrive.”
A smash-and-grab is choreography, he says: rehearsal, a stopwatch, muscle memory.
High on his list of weak points is a 2019 overhaul of the Apollo Gallery display cases. Desclos — who has slicked back hair and a larger-than-life personality — says older display cases were designed so that, in an attack, treasures could drop to safety; newer ones without that feature left the artifacts vulnerable.
As he put it: “It’s incomprehensible they changed the cases to leave jewels within arm’s reach. You’re making it easier for burglars.”
The Louvre has pushed back on such criticism, saying the newer vitrines are more secure and meet modern standards.
And then there was one glaring soft spot. “When I saw that specific window, I thought: they’re crazy.”
