A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #366 - Spotlight - Louvre Burglary: But Who Are the Outraged? (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On October 19th, the Louvre burglary sparked numerous indignant 
reactions: it wasn't jewels that were stolen, but the very image of 
France, mind you! Yet, this kind of break-in was predictable in a 
widespread context of budget cuts in the cultural sector. Ultimately, 
isn't the real attack we are witnessing the one waged against public 
service by a reactionary bourgeoisie worshipping an eternal France? The 
various Macron governments and their policies of cutting public spending 
are complicit in the theft of the crown jewels from the Louvre on 
October 19, 2025. Indeed, the comrades of the CGT Culture union had, as 
early as February 2025, warned the government of the potential risks of 
burglary due to the aging infrastructure and overwork among the staff. 
The only response to the union representatives' letter was a new 
security plan, largely disconnected from the realities on the ground, 
and this plan only applied to one room in the museum.

On June 17, 2025, staff responded to this plan with a strike to protest 
the chronic understaffing in the museum's reception and security 
departments. Indeed, 200 positions have been eliminated in 15 years, 
while the Louvre's budget has increased by EUR100 million since 2014. 
Meanwhile, at the beginning of the year, Emmanuel Macron announced an 
ambitious EUR800 million project for the museum, which will 
"symbolically" cost the state only EUR12 million. But this project, 
dubbed "Louvre New Renaissance," offered no solutions regarding security 
or the overwork of the reception and security staff. It is even 
estimated that it would worsen their working conditions due to the 
increase in visitors it would generate. This plan has not been adapted 
following the demands and strikes of the employees.

The Louvre Museum is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the 
scale of the problem. It is only the most visible part since the robbery 
of October 19th. First of all, this is the fourth robbery this year in a 
French museum, but above all, the dismantling of culture is widespread 
throughout the country. Millions of euros are needed across the nation, 
but year after year, the culture budget collapses, both at the national 
level and at the local level. For example, the Pays de la Loire region 
plans to cut 75% of its cultural subsidies. This means reduced 
subsidies, lower funding for local authorities, weakened institutions, 
canceled programs, and difficulties in planning future seasons.

The Louvre, a monument celebrating the French monarchy, welcomes more 
than 8 million tourists a year and employs 2,200 people.

Unsplash/Mika Baumeister
Employees in the sector have never felt so threatened as under Rachida 
Dati. This creates a divide within the cultural sector, but also between 
the best-endowed regions and the smallest communities that struggle to 
develop cultural policies. Culture is considered a fundamental right by 
the constitution, as well as by the United Nations; nevertheless, it has 
never been so targeted by the government. By implementing its austerity 
policies, it deprives the most vulnerable of fair access to cultural 
services and jeopardizes an entire sector of the country.

The bourgeoisie and their traditionalist rhetoric
The Louvre robbery greatly angered the bourgeoisie, particularly because 
of the symbolism of the stolen goods. Nine pieces of jewelry were taken. 
They all belonged to 19th-century monarchs[1]. The reality is that the 
bourgeois controversy revolves around the vision of an eternal France, a 
concept used in monarchist and far-right circles. This is used to 
present the country as a uniform entity that has existed since time 
immemorial and fought off all invaders. It is supposedly rooted in a 
territory, attached to old traditions and great figures.

The media presented us with a fine display of their vision of this 
France: for some, they were outraged; for others, it was a way to call 
for the return of fallen monarchies. On that day, October 19th, it 
wasn't just a few diamonds that were allegedly stolen, but a piece of 
France that was supposedly defiled by "scum"[2]. In a context of 
stigmatizing foreigners, this event gave them plenty to argue about for 
hours.

It is essential to point out that these jewels have a dual symbolism: 
those of colonialist and authoritarian regimes. Indeed, according to 
historians' hypotheses, the diamonds originated from colonies in South 
America or the Indian Ocean. Far from embodying "the grandeur of 
France," these jewels reflect a country that exploits its people.

Crown of Empress Eugénie.

Wouter Engler
An Open Door for Major Patrons
Let's not kid ourselves, the State's abdication of its duty to make 
culture accessible to all leaves the door wide open to the same 
traditionalist bourgeoisie who are outraged by the theft of a few 
jewels. Culture is central to collective memory, and the far right 
intends to use it to win the cultural battle. They are trying to create 
a world where culture, history, and traditions are reinterpreted to 
construct the image of an eternal France.

In concrete terms, the funding of culture by the traditionalist and 
identitarian right has existed for a long time: one can cite, for 
example, the creation in 1989 of the Puy du Fou theme park by Philippe 
de Villiers, a far-right politician from the Vendée region. Through his 
park, he is revising French history in his own image. But more recently, 
Pierre-Edouard Stérin has distinguished himself by his unsubtle approach 
to massively funding cultural events that portray a France supposedly 
rooted in its ancestral heritage. Through his "Common Good Fund," he 
finances numerous associations focused on Catholicism, history, and the 
military.

The only common thread among all these investments is that they present 
a fantasy of a French culture that doesn't exist and never has. Their 
aim is to propagate values ​​and ideas to build the foundations of their 
fantasies in people's minds and lead to the return of an authoritarian, 
far-right power clinging to the past. The bourgeoisie has no intention 
of saving our cultural system. They will fund prestigious "foundations" 
like Bernard Arnault's or pay millions to see Notre Dame Cathedral 
rebuilt as quickly as possible. But museums in small towns, independent 
theaters, and community cinemas are not in their interest.

What the theft of the crown jewels from the Louvre reveals is far more 
than a simple daytime robbery. Behind this event lies the dismantling of 
public cultural services, the destruction of jobs, and the increased 
difficulty of accessing culture for the most vulnerable. The far right 
exploits this event, and more generally, the void left by the lack of 
funding for culture, to infiltrate wherever it can, presenting a 
fantastical world and spreading its repugnant supremacist ideas.

Maya (UCL Grenoble)

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[1]To cite them: Empress Marie-Louise of Austria during the First French 
Empire, Queen Marie-Amélie of Bourbon-Two Sicilies during the July 
Monarchy, and Empress Eugénie de Montijo during the Second French Empire.

[2]Quotes taken from Bolloré media such as CNews or Europe 1, but also 
from France culture... See for example the podcast by Stéphane Berne, 
Pierre Branda and François Meresse, "Theft of the crown jewels: why are 
we offended?", France culture, October 22, 2025.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Cambriolage-du-Louvre-Mais-qui-sont-les-offusques
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