The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France after a spectacular daylight heist exposed woeful flaws in the museum's security.
On Friday, a secret police escort oversaw the transfer of some of the remaining jewels to the Bank, located 500m (about 500 yards) from the museum, French media reports.
These treasures will now be stored in the Bank's most secure vault, which sits 26m (85ft) below ground level in its elegant Paris headquarters. This vault contains 90% of France's gold reserves and other national treasures, amounting to an estimated value of €600m (£520m).
Known as the Souterraine, the vault has been designed to withstand all forms of attacks. It boasts a 50cm-thick, seven-tonne door made of flame-resistant concrete reinforced with steel. Behind this door is a 35-tonne rotating concrete turret, which prevents any possibility of forced entry.
Last Sunday, masked thieves used an angle grinder to breach a reinforced window into the Louvre's Gallery of Apollo, where France's crown jewels are displayed. Within eight minutes, the gang seized treasures, including a necklace that belonged to Napoleon's wife, Empress Marie-Louise, and a diadem from Napoleon III's wife, Empress Eugenie, totaling €88m (£77m).
The thieves employed a mechanical ladder mounted on a lorry to access a first-floor balcony and gain entry to the gallery.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez expressed confidence that the thieves would be apprehended. Despite French ministers' insistence that security measures were effective on the day of the heist, Louvre director, Laurence des Cars, admitted to struggles with weak and aging infrastructure. A single security camera monitoring the wall where the break-in occurred was found to be misaligned, facing the wrong way.
