The brazen daytime heist at the Louvre was carried out by petty criminals rather than professionals from the world of organised crime, the Paris prosecutor has said, describing two of the suspects as a couple with children.
The assertion comes two weeks after thieves parked a stolen truck outside the world’s most-visited museum, used a furniture lift to reach the first floor, then smashed their way into one of the museum’s most ornate rooms. Less than seven minutes later, they escaped on scooters with crown jewels worth an estimated €88m (£76m).
What’s really odd is that France already pays Gendarmerie to stand around in public places, protect cultural assets etc.
If even one dude was standing in the corner of the gallery with a rifle slung up that day, that would likely have deterred the entire theft.
Museum protocol during active robbery is to escort visitors to the nearest exit first and only after take care of the criminals
Sure, but in my view a bunch of dudes standing around with rifles is enough of a visual deterrent that it should never escalate to the point of “active robbery”.
We need more guards with MP5s?