Louvre museum closure leaves thousands waiting for emergency meeting

Euronews

a day ago

Staff at the Louvre, the world's most-visited museum and a global symbol of art, have cited an 'emergency meeting' of senior officials but offered no explanation or timeline for reopening.
Some frustrated ticket-holders gave up and left, creating a false impression that the line was moving. 'It's the Mona Lisa moan out here,' said Kevin Ward, 62, from Milwaukee, one of thousands of confused visitors corralled into unmoving lines beneath I.M. Pei's glass pyramid. 'Thousands of people waiting, no communication, no explanation. I guess even she needs a day off.'
It's a rare thing for the Louvre to close its doors to the public. It has happened during war, during the pandemic, and in a brief 2019 staff strike - but never quite like this: with tourists lining the plaza, tickets in hand, and no clear sense of why the world's most famous museum had simply stopped.
As of midday, there was no official evacuation or further information from the museum. A message posted on the museum's website said: 'Due to strikes in France, the museum may open later and some exhibition rooms may remain closed. We thank you for your understanding."
A glittering crystal-covered artwork at a museum in Verona was left badly damaged after a couple ignored warnings and climbed onto it to take photos.
Security footage from the Palazzo Maffei museum shows a man and woman taking turns posing in front of the 'Van Gogh' chair, a fragile sculpture created by Italian artist Nicola Bolla and covered in hundreds of Swarovski crystals.
While pretending to sit on the piece, the man loses his balance and falls, collapsing on to and destroying the delicate chair beneath him.
The incident, which occurred in April but was only made public by the museum this month, left the artwork with broken legs and a crushed seat. Despite the damage, the couple quickly fled the scene without notifying any staff. The museum has since reported the incident to the police, though the couple remain unidentified.
'This is a nightmare for any museum,' said Palazzo Maffei director Vanessa Carlon. 'Of course it was an accident, but these two people left without speaking to us - that isn't an accident.'
The 'Van Gogh' chair, named in tribute to Vincent van Gogh's iconic 1888 painting of a simple wooden seat, is deceptively fragile. Although it appears sturdy, the sculpture is constructed from a hollow frame held together with foil - and clearly marked with signs warning visitors not to touch.