The robbery at the Louvre has done what no marketing campaign ever could: It has catapulted France’s dusty crown jewels — long admired at home,

Authorities were racing Monday to reassure the public about security at key cultural sites — and find the jewels stolen from the museum before they can be broken up and melted down.

The recent security breach at the Louvre, where thieves raided the Galerie d’Apollon and stole jewels once belonging to France’s imperial dynasties, is more than a museum scandal. It is a metaphor for a nation unable to protect what it claims to hold sacred.

High visitor numbers and dwindling funds for overhauls may have made the landmark museum unexpectedly vulnerable.