I was shocked to hear that the crown jewels were stolen right from the heart of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

A group of four robbers appeared with a chainsaw, climbed the Louvre's outer wall using a cherry picker, cut the glass with a disc cutter, and entered the gallery to steal nine jewels before escaping.

To think they completed their operation in just seven minutes during a time when visitors were coming and going on a Sunday morning—how could this happen in a place that is called 'the world's greatest museum'? The criminals disguised themselves as workers wearing orange vests. The alarm was triggered late, and the security team was confused, only responding after the incident was over.

The French police announced that they had arrested several suspects on Saturday evening, but the world had already witnessed their flimsy national system. The Louvre is such a symbolic place that it is referred to as an elite exhibition hall. If the security of such a place is this full of holes, then there is a problem.

The director of the Louvre called this incident a "terrible failure," and he knows it is a national disgrace. Crown jewels worth 88 million euros, approximately 150 billion won, were stolen, and one of the arrested suspects was caught trying to leave from Charles de Gaulle Airport.

The French government boasts that it has deployed over 100 personnel for the investigation, but I don't understand what they are bragging about when they couldn't even protect a museum where the alarm doesn't work properly. The Minister of the Interior expressed gratitude for the efforts of the investigators, but honestly, what the public wants to hear right now is not 'thanks' but 'accountability for those responsible.'

This is not the first time that jewels from the Louvre have been stolen. There were similar attempts a few years ago, and back then, they also just said they would "enhance security" and left it at that. This incident has made France a laughingstock in the global art community.

The stolen items are not just ordinary jewels. They include a sapphire crown, necklace, and earring set used by Queen Marie Amélie and her daughter, as well as Empress Marie Louise's emerald necklace and Empress Eugénie's diamond crown and corsage brooch—all artifacts symbolizing the history and identity of the French Empire.

Fortunately, Empress Eugénie's emerald crown was found broken, and restoration is possible, but the repetition of such incidents is already evidence that the country's system is rotten. When Notre-Dame Cathedral burned, people said, "The spirit of France has burned away," but this time, jewels have been stolen from the ashes.

This incident feels like a warning that France is collapsing within the system it has created. As one citizen asked, "Will we be able to recover the jewels?" I think what France has truly lost is not the jewels, but its 'pride'.