The Louvre's Apollo gallery on Wednesday reopened to the public for the first time since last year's crown jewels heist. The collections and precious jewels that it once displayed have been removed, as the museum said the gallery is returning to its 17th-century original ceremonial purpose. Security at the Paris museum has been boosted with the addition of new surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems. On the day of the heist, thieves took less than eight minutes to force their way through a window into the Apollo Gallery and steal crown jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million) from the Louvre, in a weekend operation that stunned visitors and exposed glaring security vulnerabilities. Security improvement is a priority of the decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan launched last year, with an estimated cost of up to 800 million euros ($933 million) to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.
