Students were shocked by the news of the recent Louvre heist, wondering how thieves could break into what’s supposed to be one of the most secure museums in the world. While some are upset, fearing that the stolen early 18th-century masterpieces may never be seen by the public again, others are impressed with the skill set of the mysterious thieves who got away with it.
“I saw it on my TikTok the day of the heist in the afternoon, right after school. It’s not a good thing that happened, but at the same time, it’s kind of interesting because I’m not sure how they got away with it in seven minutes. I’m kind of impressed, ” sophomore Kaitlyn Keeling said.
While Keeling finds the heist impressive on how they got away with it in seven minutes, others who have visited are surprised because the Louvre museum is supposed to have a world-renowned high security system.
“Through TikTok, I actually heard about the Louvre heist two days ago,” sophomore Maggie Williams said. “I was really surprised because I thought it would be harder to steal them, because when I went, it looked pretty secure, but at the same time, not really, because I’ve just found out they don’t have cameras. I went to Paris about two weeks before the robbery and visited the Louvre. I have photos that I took of the pieces that got stolen. The one I like the most, especially the one that got stolen, was the bow of Empress Eugenie.”
In today’s society, we have advanced technology that could have prevented this from happening. Since this was carried out in broad daylight in under seven minutes, some argue they didn’t pay enough attention.
“I saw it on Instagram, the day of, actually. I was honestly thinking, how could that happen with today’s technology? I didn’t feel bad because they deserved it, because they didn’t pay close enough attention,” junior Viet Nguyen said.
While some think the Louvre deserved to be robbed due to its lack of security, others view it as a wake-up call for everywhere around the world, because if such a prominent museum can be robbed, what’s next?
“I was late to finding out, but I saw it on TikTok two days after,” junior Alex Dawson said. “I thought it was like a big wake-up call for security globally, that such a big museum, like the Louvre, can be robbed by just a few men on scooters in under seven minutes, that is pretty astonishing. Empress Marie-Louise, her diamond-encrusted emerald necklace is a piece I’ll miss.”