Finance
France's Macron accepts resignation of Louvre museum chief after jewel theft
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 24, 2026
1 min readLast updated: February 24, 2026
Quick Summary
On Feb 24, 2026, Macron accepted Louvre director Laurence des Cars' resignation after the Oct 19, 2025, $102m crown jewels heist and weeks of strikes, signaling a security-focused reset. (uk.marketscreener.com)
PARIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation on Tuesday of the head of Paris' Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel heist and rolling strikes.
Laurence des Cars tendered her resignation, which Macron accepted, "praising an act of responsibility at a time when the world's largest museum needs calm and a strong new impetus to successfully carry out major projects involving security and modernization", his office said.
Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102 million that are still missing, exposing glaring security gaps at the world's most-visited museum.
Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures and added to a list of woes that included two water leaks as well as a massive ticket fraud investigation.
Critics including the state auditors' office have questioned the museum's low spending on security and infrastructure maintenance while it made lavish purchases of new artwork, only a quarter of which is open to the public, and spent heavily on post-pandemic relaunch projects.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Michel Rose; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Key Takeaways
- •President Emmanuel Macron accepted Louvre director Laurence des Cars' resignation on Feb 24, 2026.
- •The move follows the Oct 19, 2025 theft of French crown jewels valued at about $102 million, which intensified scrutiny of museum security.
- •Authorities say the stolen jewels remain missing as investigations and arrests continue.
- •Rolling staff strikes and infrastructure concerns have led to periodic closures and pressure for reforms at the museum.
- •The Elysée framed the resignation as an act of responsibility, aiming to restore calm and accelerate security and modernization projects.
Frequently Asked Questions about France's Macron accepts resignation of Louvre museum chief after jewel theft
1What is the main topic?
France's President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation of Louvre director Laurence des Cars following a high-profile $102 million jewel heist and staff strikes.
2Why did the Louvre director resign?
The resignation comes after the Oct 19, 2025 crown jewels theft exposed security weaknesses and amid rolling strikes that disrupted museum operations.
3Are the stolen jewels recovered?
No. As of Feb 24, 2026, the jewels remain missing while investigations continue and multiple arrests have been reported.
