This is a new alert on the dilapidated state of the largest museum in the world. A little less than four months after taking office, Christophe Leribault, the new president and director of the Louvre, draws up a clear observation: “We can say it unequivocally, despite its imposing majesty, despite the daily commitment of its teams, the Louvre is running out of steam. »
While the theft of the Crown Jewels last October revealed to the whole world the failures and fragilities of the Louvre – and ultimately cost Laurence des Cars his post, who remained at the head of the museum for five years – his predecessor rang the bell alarm this Wednesday, June 17, before the Senate Culture Committee: “Equipment and infrastructure are reaching the end of their cycle, we are at a crossroads Building emergencies are piling up and we are facing a wall of investments,” he explained.
Symbolized by the great pyramid of the architect Ieoh Ming Pei, the developments of the Grand Louvre in the 1980s, “whose technical installations now show signs of very strong fatigue, created a screen compared to the real state of the building”, points out Christophe Leribault. He mentions in particular the need for renovation of the buildings surrounding the square courtyard, or even structural problems within the Sully wing, on the Seine side.
“The fragility of the beams on the second floor led to the evacuation of the offices of two departments in November. The Campana gallery was closed as a preventative measure,” he recalled, and there are now more than 10,000 Greek vases that the teams must secure. A situation “symptomatic of the emergency work needed by the museum”.
“The theft was a tragedy, but we must not forget the other risks.”
During this hearing, Christophe Leribault was strongly attacked by senator LR Max Brisson, who criticized him for being part of the “continuity” of his predecessor. “You talk about reception, promotion, image… As if nothing had happened,” said the elected official. “This shocks me, I was expecting a breakup.” The president and director of the Louvre assured “not to deal with the difficulties facing the establishment in a pirouette.”
Regarding the security of the museum, he announced the deployment from January 2027 of a new perimeter video surveillance system. “We of course urgently installed a few additional cameras in absolutely critical locations, where we had noted the deficiency, but we cannot recreate a whole new network with hundreds of cameras without strengthening the technical framework,” he explained. The museum’s security PC will also be moved and enlarged. Furthermore, the new position of security coordinator, created in response to the October burglary, is entrusted to Olivier Goupil, former divisional commissioner and head of security at RATP.
“The theft was a tragedy, but we must not forget the risks posed by water leaks, glass windows that no longer work, and the fire risk in relation to the crowd,” insists Christophe Leribault. The amount of priority measures on security, heating and air conditioning is estimated at 160 million euros. The work must be financed by differentiated pricing, but at present only 15 million euros of ticketing has been able to be allocated to this expenditure.
« Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance »
The failures and the sums necessary to rehabilitate the spaces and technical equipment have led to the contestation, within the public debate, of the “Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance” plan, announced in January 2025 by Emmanuel Macron. Estimated overall at more than a billion euros – an amount largely underestimated according to a report from the Court of Auditors – this project includes the creation of a new entrance and the opening of several rooms, for 660 million euros, in order to relieve part of the visitor route. The remaining must go to the technical modernization of the various departments of the museum.
“I did not have a set philosophy on the subject, today after several months touring the museum I really believe, like all the teams, in the absolute necessity of a major renovation project for the museum to respond to all these difficulties […] and adapt the Louvre to the challenges of the 21st century,” argues Christophe Leribault. “Today, our reception conditions are not worthy of the largest Louvre museum, which is detrimental to our reputation,” further deplores this manager, who mentions the queues which lengthen in all weathers at the foot of the pyramid.
“Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance” provides for the creation of a double access at the level of the large colonnade, rue de l’amiral de Coligny. “At present, it is an area which is not very pleasant, sandy, with heavy car traffic. The Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois church and the old district town hall, opposite, are a little set back and hidden, but there is the possibility of a very large esplanade in the heart of Paris,” enthuses the boss of the Louvre.
The colonnade was designed by architects Claude Perrault and Louis Le Vau at the request of Louis XIV and his principal minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, at the end of the 1660s, as the main entrance to the Louvre. But the move of the court to Versailles, on May 6, 1682, caused this piece of classical architecture to be relatively forgotten. The impressive facade was still neglected in the 19th century, while the center of power, imperial and royal, moved towards the Tuileries Palace, further west.
“The idea was not to recreate a new architectural gesture at the Louvre, as the pyramid was in its time, with the criticisms that we know, but to have a more flexible insertion into the building.” The winning project carried out by STUDIOS Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects, unveiled on May 18, includes two stone access ramps, built into the counter-scarp walls of the ditches which border the large colonnade, with an entrance to the south, and another to the north of the facade. “The flexibility of online ticketing will allow us, upon arrival, to distribute visitors between the four entrances to the Louvre. […] If you want to see the Mona Lisa, you will have to go through the colonnade, if you want to see the paintings of Rubens, you will have to go through the pyramid. HAS”
A new setting for the Mona Lisa
One of the new rooms will notably house the Mona Lisa. The objective: “Avoid the receptive effect noted among certain visitors,” explains the boss of the Louvre. The Salle des Estates, where Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece has been exhibited since 1966, appears today completely saturated. “The aim is to make visitors understand why it is a key painting of the Renaissance, explain its importance in the art of portraiture, Leonardo’s career, and why the Mona Lisa is in France, where she arrived with the artist under Francis I,” explains Christophe Leribault.
“We have not released too many images of the Mona Lisa room and the architectural details because we are entering a phase of consultation with the architects, the Louvre teams and the police headquarters. The goal is to be able to further modify this project, which was by far the most logical and the most respectful of the architecture of the museum,” he specifies.
360 millions d’euros de mécénat à trouver
The 660 million euros necessary for this work, including additional rooms and new access, will have to be financed by patronage, announced Emmanuel Macron. “It’s quite a challenge, and I don’t know if I’ll succeed,” admits the president and director of the Louvre. “There are 300 million on the Abu Dhabi side, the others will be found in the coming months from large companies and individual donors. It’s a lot of pressure.”
