(PARIS) — The director of the Louvre in Paris took the hot seat on Wednesday, answering questions from lawmakers amid mounting criticism over apparent security lapses that enabled thieves to pull off Sunday’s brazen daylight heist of more than $100 million in jewels from the museum’s ornate Apollo Gallery.
Laurence des Cars, the president and director of the Louvre, testified in front of France’s Senate Culture Committee, saying, “We have been defeated.”
“This tragedy deeply shocked museum staff, fellow citizens, and admirers of the Louvre around the world,” said des Cars, reading an opening statement. “This is an immense wound that has been inflicted on us.”
Des Cars added, “This theft hurts our institution.”
Des Cars said all of the museum’s alarms worked, as did its video cameras, but noted a “weakness” in security.
“The weakness of the Louvre is its perimeter security, which has been a problem for a long time … certainly due to underinvestment,” des Cars told the lawmakers.
She said a “Grand Louvre renovation project” began 40 years ago “and has only affected half of the museum.”
“We did not spot the criminals arriving from outside early enough,” des Cars said.
She said the only camera installed outside the Apollo Gallery was facing west and did not cover the window where the thieves used power tools to break in.
Des Cars said the 232-year-old museum’s “aging infrastructure” has hindered “the instalation of modern equipment.”
She said one way to improve security would be to place a police station within the museum.
“I would like to ask the Department of the Interior to look into whether it would be feasible to set up a police station within the museum,” des Cars said.
Some lawmakers have called for des Cars resignation in the wake of the robbery.
During her testimony on Wednesday, des Cars said she submitted her resignation and it was refused.
“Last Sunday, after acknowledging … the consequences of the terrible attack we had just suffered, I submitted my resignation to the Minister of Culture. She refused it,” des Cars said.
Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced on Tuesday that those gems are estimated to be worth $102 million.
Des Cars testimony came as the Louvre reopened for the first time since Sunday’s robbery.
A large crowd of visitors was lined up when most of the Louvre reopened at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The Apollo Galley, still considered a crime scene, remained temporarily closed, according to the Louvre’s website.
In an interview with the French radio network RTL, Beccuau called the figure “spectacular,” but said it was nothing compared to the “historical loss caused by the theft.”
“We can maybe hope that [the perpetrators] think about it and won’t destroy these jewels for no reason,” Beccuau said.
Hundreds of police officers are a part of the ongoing investigation in the Louvre heist. There are four main suspects in the ongoing investigation, but it’s possible there were other accomplices, Beccuau said.
A nationwide manhunt for the Louvre thieves has been in high gear since the theft on Sunday. French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that authorities would catch those responsible for the “attack on a heritage that we cherish because it is our history.”
The thieves went directly to two displays, breaking them and taking a “significant amount of loot,” French Culture Minister Rachida Dati told ABC News.
“They knew exactly where they were going,” Dati said. “It looks like something very organized and very professional.”
Dati said the evidence collected so far points to “organized crime,” but added that investigators have not ruled out that the heist could have been an inside job.
ABC News’ Léontine Gallois contributed to this report.
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