Louvre director warns museum could eventually close without major overhaul

Mixed · 2Louvre director Christophe Leribault warned on 14 October that the museum risks having to close its doors to the public unless lawmakers approve a major overhaul of the "creaking and over-capacity" institution, he told the French newspaper Le Figaro. 1 2 Mixed · 2Leribault said the museum intends to tap private funding for its transformation, but that a major injection of public money would need to be approved after national elections next year (2027). 1 2 Centre · 1He said: "Whoever forms the next government must keep in mind that if the Louvre is not repaired, updated, and transformed, it will very quickly fall behind and will eventually have to close its doors to the public. That would be a disaster." 1

Mixed · 2Leribault was appointed in February, after the 19 October 2025 heist in which thieves stole crown jewels worth an estimated $100 million. 1 2 Mixed · 2Ahead of the heist's one-year anniversary, he told AFP that an €83 million security masterplan is "moving forward at speed". Measures include a new head of security post, an upgraded camera network that was found to have old cameras and major gaps, and better surveillance around the perimeter and at access points. 1 2 Mixed · 2Leribault argued that long-term security improvements can only come as part of the larger overhaul, because securing the museum requires work on the historic building and its infrastructure. He said: "There is no easy, miracle 'surface' solution." 1 2

Mixed · 2The Louvre, the world's most-visited museum, welcomed around nine million visitors last year and is widely seen as facing structural problems including old plumbing, badly insulated galleries and cramped public areas. 1 2 Mixed · 2The scale and cost of the work have become highly political: President Emmanuel Macron champions a €600 million overhaul that would include a new entrance. Trade unions criticised Macron and Leribault's predecessor, Laurence des Cars, for prioritising grandiose architectural plans over more modest changes to improve the visitor experience. 1 2 Centre · 1The funding question comes as successive minority governments have struggled to pass annual budgets and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is trying to rein in public spending to reduce the country's large deficit. 1