Leaky, crowded and hot: Louvre boss slams her own museum

Visitors take pictures of the painting “La Liberte guidant le peuple, 1830” (Liberty Leading the People) by Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France January 23, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The head of the Louvre in Paris has warned the government about leaks, overcrowding and sub-standard catering in a confidential note that has raised alarm about the state of the world’s most-visited museum.

Laurence des Cars, the first woman head of the French landmark, wrote a memo about her concerns to Culture Minister Rachida Dati earlier this month which was published on Thursday (January 23, 2025) in Le Parisien newspaper.

She warned about the “proliferation of damage in museum spaces, some of which are in very poor condition”.

Furthermore, some areas “are no longer watertight, while others experience significant temperature variations, endangering the preservation of artworks”, she added.

Despite the French government’s budget problems and the imminent closure of the Pompidou Museum for renovations, Ms. des Cars said the Louvre required an overhaul that would likely be costly and technically complicated.

A total of 8.7 million people visited its famed galleries last year – around twice the number it was designed for – and Ms. des Cars expressed concern about the quality of the user experience.

The Louvre’s popularity was causing a “physical strain” on the historic building, while “food options and restroom facilities are insufficient in volume, falling well below international standards”, she wrote.

Even the museum’s most modern addition – a glass pyramid designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei and inaugurated in 1989 – comes in for severe criticism because of its “major shortcomings”.

It was used by President Emmanuel Macron for a state dinner before the opening of the Paris Olympics last July, but Ms. des Cars said it acted like a greenhouse on hot days and became “very inhospitable” as well as being noisy.

“It’s my duty as chairwoman to sound the alarm on these issues and I’ve already done so on several occasions,” she told journalists on Thursday (January 23, 2025) as she inaugurated a new exhibition – “Louvre Couture” – that mixes artworks and fashion.

‘Fantastic’

Visitors encountered by AFP outside the museum on Thursday (January 23, 2025) seemed unaware of the problems.

“It was absolutely fantastic,” said Brazilian tourist Felipe Laburu, who was visiting with wife and children.

When asked about problems, he noted an unpleasant smell in a toilet he visited and found the sign system confusing at times but emerged into the chilly Parisian streets thrilled by his experience.

“There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the world,” he added.

Like other major European cities, Paris has seen international tourism rebound strongly after the Covid pandemic of 2020-2021.

Around 70% of visitors to the Louvre last year were foreigners.

The Mona Lisa, which is the most popular attraction in the museum, is displayed in its largest room which frequently features long queues.

The memo stressed the need to “reassess” how Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece is presented to the public, with Ms. des Cars saying last year that it needed its own dedicated area.

‘Saturation’

Christian Galani, a national board member of the hard-left CGT Culture trade union, told AFP that there was “hardly a day goes by without us noticing the deterioration of the building”.

“Because of staffing problems, rooms are often closed and working conditions are getting worse, with temperatures of around 10°-12°C (50-54 Fahrenheit) in winter and more than 30°C in summer,” he added.

In November 2023, an exhibition of drawings by 18th-century French artist Claude Gillot had to be closed and moved due to a leak in the room where his works were being displayed.

Since taking over as boss of the institution in 2021, Ms. des Cars has spoken out publicly about the museum reaching “saturation point”.

One of her first major measures was to impose a cap on visitors of 30,000 per day and extend opening hours.

She has also backed an idea to create a second entrance other than the pyramid to “irrigate” the rest of the museum.

The modern art Pompidou Museum, originally opened in 1977, is closing for a 262-million-euro ($272 million), five-year refit from September 2025.