The Louvre Heist and the French Riots: A Brief History of Ignored Warnings (Season 8 Episode 1)
History's Greatest IdiotsSummary
John Husted testifies at the First Energy corruption trial, revealing a troubling connection between his campaign and the energy company. Husted, who received a secret million-dollar payment from First Energy, played a pivotal role in securing a billion-dollar bailout for the company, which subsequently led to a 62% increase in electric bills for consumers. His testimony highlights the intertwining of political funding and corporate interests, raising questions about accountability and ethics in political financing.
In a separate incident, a daring robbery at the Louvre Museum in 2025 exposes significant security flaws. Thieves used a furniture lift to access the museum, stealing pieces valued at 88 million euros, including historic crown jewels. Investigations reveal that the museum had been underfunding security measures, with a report indicating that only 39% of its rooms had CCTV coverage. The heist underscores broader societal issues in France, particularly the stark contrast between the affluent areas surrounding the museum and the impoverished suburbs, which have long been neglected by the state.
The robbery serves as a reflection of France's ongoing struggles with inequality and public discontent. Despite spending a significant portion of its GDP on social protection, the country faces rising tensions and protests over issues such as education reform and the cost of living. The Louvre's director warns that without urgent renovations and security upgrades, the museum may have to close, prompting a reevaluation of how public institutions allocate resources and address the needs of all citizens.
Show Notes
A year ago, thieves used a furniture lift to climb into the Louvre and left with €88 million of French crown jewels. The camera covering the gallery was reportedly pointing the wrong way, and the surveillance password was, at one point, reportedly “Louvre”. The heist is where this episode starts, but most of it is about what made the heist so easy. That means a museum whose own staff walked out over understaffing four months earlier, an audit that found security had lost out to shiny acquisitions, and a French state that keeps funding grand projects while the basics fall apart. We use Mathieu Kassovitz’s La Haine (1995) as a guide through thirty years of French riots: the 2005 unrest in the banlieues, Macron’s public brush-off of the Borloo plan for the suburbs, the 2023 riots after the fatal police shooting of Nahel Merzouk, and this October’s cost-of-living protests, which ended up blockading the Louvre on the heist’s anniversary. Along the way, we revisit the other times France lost its treasures, from the Third Republic auctioning off the crown jewels in 1887 to the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa by a man whose firm made the museum’s glass cases. And, since France still spends more on social protection than almost anywhere in the EU, we ask why so little of it seems to reach the places that keep catching fire. https://www.patreon.com/HistorysGreatestIdiots
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