LONDON – Two traces of DNA were found on one of the helmets and one of the gloves that suspects left behind after a jewelry robbery at the Louvre on Sunday, French police told ABC News.
In what could be the first major breakthrough in the investigation into the $102 million jewel heist at the Louvre Museum, investigators are now sifting through the latest clues in the hope they will lead to identifying the brazen thieves involved in the theft.
The latest development comes as the Louvre director took the stand Wednesday, telling lawmakers that she tendered her resignation following Sunday’s daylight robbery at the museum’s ornate Apollo Gallery.
Laurence des Cars, president and director of the Louvre, appeared before the Culture Committee of France’s Senate for two hours and said her resignation was rejected.
“This tragedy deeply shocked museum staff, fellow citizens and admirers of the Louvre around the world,” des Cars said, reading an opening statement. “This is an immense wound that has been inflicted on us.”
Des Cars said all of the museum’s alarms worked, as did its video cameras, but he noted a “weakness” in security.
Visitors queue in front of the Pyramide du Louvre, designed by Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, with the Louvre Museum in the background in Paris on October 22, 2025. The Louvre Museum reopened its doors to visitors on the morning of October 22, 2025 for the first time since the spectacular robbery on October 19, 2025 by four criminals.
Thibaud Moritz/AFP via Getty Images
“The Louvre’s weakness is its perimeter security, which has been a problem for a long time…certainly due to lack of investment,” des Cars told lawmakers.
He said a “Grand Louvre renovation project” began 40 years ago “and has only affected half of the museum.”
He said the only camera installed outside the Apollo Gallery faced west and did not cover the window where the thieves used power tools to gain entry.
“The security system installed at the Apollo Gallery worked perfectly,” des Cars said. “The question that arises is how to adapt this system to a new type of attack and modus operandi that we could not have foreseen.” Despite touting that the security system inside the Louvre is working properly, des Cars added: “Today we are witnessing a terrible failure at the Louvre. The security of the Louvre is one of my top priorities during my mandate, and I repeat that I was dismayed by the security situation at the museum when I arrived in 2021.”
Des Cars said the 232-year-old museum’s “aging infrastructure” has made it difficult “to install modern equipment.”
Officials said earlier this week that 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.
