- After the Louvre heist in October 2025, a rumor spread that the museum’s security password was “Louvre.”
- On Nov. 1, 2025, Libération, one of France’s most reputable newspapers, reported that in 2014, the password to access the server for security cameras was “LOUVRE,” citing a confidential security audit of the museum carried out that year. Libération further reported that, according to the same audit, the password to a software by French technology company Thalès was “THALES.”
- On Nov. 5. 2025, U.S. television network ABC News said an unnamed employee of the museum had told them the “password to the Louvre’s video surveillance system was ‘Louvre.'”
- Snopes could not independently verify this information. As such, we have left the claim unrated. We contacted the Louvre seeking details about the rumor and await a response.
In November 2025, rumors abounded that Paris’ Louvre museum’s security camera password was “Louvre.”
For example, a post on X said an investigation had revealed the museum’s supposed password for video surveillance was “Louvre” (archived):
As of this writing, the post had garnered 3.9 million views and 164,000 likes. The claim appeared more times on X, but also on Facebook, Reddit.
The claims stemmed from two separate reports by reputable news organizations. The first one appeared in Libération — a reputable newspaper in France — on Nov. 1, 2025. The second appeared on Nov. 5 on the website of U.S. television network ABC News.
Because we could not independently verify this claim, we left it unrated. Snopes reached out to the Louvre and will update this report should they respond.
After reviewing the 2014 confidential report of an audit on the Louvre’s security, Libération’s investigative and fact-checking unit CheckNews said a panel of three cybersecurity experts from the National Agency for the Security of Information systems (ANSSI) had managed to access the video surveillance server of the museum by typing “LOUVRE” as a password. They added that Louvre employees also used the password “THALES” to access a security software made by Thalès Group, a French technology company that offers cybersecurity programs.
Libération’s report went on to describe other vulnerabilities in the museum’s security systems, including the fact that many security softwares became obsolete as the Louvre failed to update them. Several reports in subsequent years showed the systems were becoming both more complex and outdated.
On Nov. 5, ABC News reported the video surveillance system’s password was “Louvre,” citing an unnamed employee of the museum.
While these two reports appeared to corroborate each other, Snopes could not confirm if this password was still in use when the heist occurred. Further, we could not identify the various audit reports that pointed to the museum’s security vulnerabilities.
