The Latest Breaking News from Rachida Dati

The robbers took less than eight minutes to force their way into the museum using a freight lift to reach one of the building’s windows and angle grinders to cut into jewellery display cases.

Using “LOUVRE” as a password, and running Windows 2000/Windows Server 2003 certainly didn’t help.

A 38-year-old woman and a 37-year-old man were charged on Saturday for their part in the plot to steal nearly €100 million worth of gems from the Louvre Museum in central Paris..

The chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Culture, Laurent Lafon, said on Tuesday, after a visit to the Louvre’s security facilities, that the museum’s safety standards were “not up to what one would expect from a modern museum.”

The chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Culture, Laurent Lafon, said on Tuesday, after a visit to the Louvre’s security facilities, that the museum’s safety standards were “not up to what one would expect from a modern museum.”

Paris prosecutors have announced the first arrests in connection with the theft of crown jewels from the Louvre museum

At a Senate hearing, Louvre director Laurence des Cars detailed failures in the Paris museum's security and also confirmed that she had offered to resign but the move was rejected by Culture Minister Rachida Dati.

Louvre Museum director Laurence des Cars has admitted a "terrible failure" after thieves cut through a window and stole jewellery worth nearly €90 million. She said she takes responsibility for weaknesses in security that allowed the gang to strike on Sunday morning.

Thieves spent only four minutes inside the Paris museum – but managed to steal over $100 million worth of crown jewels