CHUMPS-ELYSEES

A third of rooms in Louvre Security guards fled and raid wing had no CCTV cover cops late to respond to alarm

- BY PETER ALLEN in Paris

SECURITY at the Louvre art gallery suffered a string of chronic failures that allowed a gang of thieves to steal priceless gems in Sunday's audacious raid.

France's Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin revealed that a third of the rooms on the wing where the country's “Crown Jewels” were taken from had no CCTV coverage - despite having a yearly budget of £280million.

Windows and display cabinets were easily smashed, the five guards on duty fled when threatened with chainsaws and angle-grinders and police reacted too slowly to the crime, giving the gang time to escape.

Darmanin said: “We failed and presented a deplorable image of France.” The four crooks — who were described as a “commando unit” - were seen fleeing on two Yamaha mopeds after the daylight theft in Paris and are still at large.

A blurry CCTV image showing one of the raiders breaking into a cabinet at the Apollo Gallery has emerged but it is in no way clear enough to identify him.