The Louvre in Paris needs a full upgrade – here's a list of its problems

Independent

29-01-2025

Paris's biggest cultural attraction, The Louvre, needs a full upgrade, and a costly one.
The most visited museum in the world is plagued with overcrowding and outdated facillities. French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to announce on Tuesday possibly hundreds of millions of euros in renovation work.
The museum takes more than double the number of people it was designed to hold each year.
Macron's speech comes after the Louvre director Laurence des Cars expressed concerns over the 'very poor condition' of some of the museum's spaces.
The Louvre's last overhaul dates right back to the 1980s, when the iconic glass pyramid was unveiled.
Here's a look at what's at stake:
Water leaks and other damage
Louvre director Laurence Des Cars sent a note expressing a series of concerns to Culture Minister Rachida Dati earlier this month saying the museum is threatened by 'obsolescence'.
According to the document, first released by French newspaper Le Parisien, she warned about the gradual degradation of the building due to water leaks, temperature variations and other issues 'endangering the preservation of artworks.'
The pyramid that serves at the museum's entrance, unveiled in 1989 as part of late President François Mitterrand's project, now appears outdated. The pyramid is not properly insulated from the cold and the heat and tends to amplify noise, making the space uncomfortable for both the public and the staff, des Cars stressed.
In addition, the museum suffers from a lack of food offerings and restroom facilities, she said.
A costly and complex overhaul
'We're faced with a collective challenge,' an official at the French presidency said. 'That is, how can we adapt the Louvre to expectations, welcome visitors from across the world in comfortable conditions and also be leading a commitment for artistic and cultural education?'
The official could not be named in line with the French presidency's customary practices.
The financing needed for such a major renovation has not been specified, but any renovation work at the former royal palace is expected to be costly and technically complicated.
The Pompidou Center, another major museum in Paris, is set to close to undergo a five-year renovation worth €262 million (£219 million), starting from the end of the year.
Half the Louvre's budget is financed by the French state, including the wages of the 2,200 employees.
The other half is provided by private funds including ticket sales, earnings from restaurants, shops and bookings for special events, as well as patrons and other partners.
That includes the United Arab Emirates' financing for the right to use the brand for the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum.
Questions about the display of the Mona Lisa?
There have been multiple questions arise about how the Mona Lisa should be displayed in the museum.
Des Cars asked for the issue to be 'reassessed,' suggesting a possible transfer of the museum's most popular attraction to another room that would be specifically dedicated to it.
The Mona Lisa is now being shown behind protective glass in the museum's largest room, overcrowded with long, noisy queues of visitors eager to take a selfie with Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece.
That makes some other paintings in the room by the greatest Venetian painters like Titian and Veronese go unnoticed by many.
The museum's latest big renovation in the 1980s was designed to receive 4 million annual visitors.
Last year, the Louvre received 8.7 million visitors, more three-quarters being foreigners mostly from the United States, China and neighboring countries Italy, the UK, Germany and Spain.