Crowds gathered early at the museum’s glass pyramid, eager to return after the rare closure.

The reopening came as director Laurence des Cars prepared to face the French Senate later Wednesday to explain how one of the world’s most secure museums was robbed.

Four thieves broke into the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon on Sunday and escaped with eight treasures, including Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and sapphires once worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Hortense de Beauharnais.

The theft has stunned France and drawn global attention, fuelling a heated debate over museum security and public accountability.

Hunt for the culprits

More than a hundred officers from France’s elite anti-gang brigade and the central office for trafficking of cultural goods are working to find the culprits.

“The investigation is progressing,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told CNews and Europe 1, adding he had “full confidence” the gang would be caught.

The thieves are believed to have used a hoist set up from a nearby street to reach the gallery through a window – a feat described as “one of the most spectacular art thefts in decades”.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau confirmed the €88 million estimate but said the real loss is cultural, not financial. “The figure is spectacular, but it cannot capture the historical and artistic damage,” she said on RTL radio.

Louvre director under fire

Laurence des Cars – the first woman to head the Louvre – is due to appear before the Senate’s culture committee in what many see as a test of her leadership.

A respected art historian who previously led the Musée d’Orsay and the Orangerie, Des Cars has stayed silent since the robbery.

According to Le Figaro, she offered her resignation earlier this week, but President Emmanuel Macron reportedly refused to accept it, expressing his support. The Louvre itself has declined to comment.

The senators are expected to press Des Cars on the museum’s security measures, particularly in the Galerie d’Apollon, which contains around 800 treasures.

Despite the reopening of the museum, the gallery remains sealed off from visitors, with grey panels blocking the view and staff redirecting tourists elsewhere.

Political fallout

Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who has been managing the crisis since Sunday, has rejected claims of a “security failure” inside the museum.

The alarm systems “worked perfectly”, she told MPs on Tuesday, instead pointing to inadequate surveillance “on the public thoroughfare”, which allowed the thieves to operate their crane undetected.

However, a draft report from the Cour des Comptes – France’s national audit office – criticised delays in deploying upgraded protective equipment, adding further pressure on the Louvre’s management.

Despite the scandal, the public mood at the museum was largely forgiving. “It’s heartbreaking, of course, but the Louvre is still the Louvre – it’s magnificent,” said one visitor.