The director of Paris’ renowned Louvre Museum is facing intense scrutiny concerning apparent security oversights that permitted thieves to escape with over $100 million worth of jewels.

In her initial public statement since the heist, Louvre Museum director Laurence des Cars admitted there was a “terrible failure” and stated, “Despite our efforts, despite our hard work on a daily basis, we failed.”

Des Cars acknowledged that security around the Louvre’s perimeter posed an issue and that the only camera monitoring the museum’s exterior was oriented away from the balcony leading to the gallery where the valuable jewels were housed, according to various reports. The Guardian also noted that des Cars confirmed all the museum’s alarms were operational during the break-in.

“We failed these jewels,” des Cars reportedly said. The publication further quoted the director as asserting that no one is safe from “brutal thieves — not even the Louvre.”

On Sunday, burglars seemingly employed a truck-mounted electric furniture lift to execute the heist, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed in an interview with RTL radio. She added that the thieves obtained the lift by falsely claiming it was for a household move. Additionally, Beccuau remarked that it would be challenging for the burglars to sell the stolen jewels for their true value if they dismantled or melted them, according to the Times.

The perpetrators absconded with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace, and a single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. They also took an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, and a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her substantial corsage-bow brooch — an imperial collection of rare craftsmanship — were also among the stolen items.

“The theft committed at the Louvre is an assault on a heritage that we cherish, for it is our history,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared in a statement on Sunday. “We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor’s office.”

The heist has prompted a national reflection, with some officials comparing the shock to the 2019 burning of . Beccuau informed RTL radio that the team investigating the heist had expanded from 60 investigators to 100, underscoring the case’s significance on both national and international scales.

Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this article.