Louvre Warns of Closure Without Major Overhaul

Louvre director Christophe Leribault has warned that the Paris museum could eventually close to the public unless France’s next government funds a major overhaul. Speaking to Le Figaro, he said the museum would seek private funding, but that substantial public investment would also be needed after next year’s national elections. His warning comes as successive minority governments struggle to pass budgets and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu seeks to reduce public spending and France’s deficit. The museum is still dealing with the consequences of the October 2025 theft of eight French Crown Jewels, valued at an estimated €88 million. A four-person gang broke into the Apollo Gallery using a lorry-mounted lifting platform. The jewels have not been recovered, and a Senate inquiry found that only one of two cameras covering the break-in point was working. Leribault, who took over in February after Laurence des Cars resigned following the theft, says an €83 million security plan is advancing. It includes a new security leadership role, upgraded cameras, and improved monitoring of the perimeter and access points. Leribault argues that security measures cannot be separated from the building’s wider problems. The museum, which received around nine million visitors last year, has aging plumbing, poorly insulated galleries and cramped public areas. A 2025 memo from des Cars described some areas as no longer watertight and visits as a physical ordeal; a burst heating pipe later damaged a ceiling painting by Charles Meynier. The proposed “Louvre – New Renaissance” project, championed by President Emmanuel Macron, includes a new entrance and is estimated to cost €700–800 million over ten years. Part of the funding could come from a 45% ticket-price increase for most visitors from outside Europe. Trade unions criticize the plans as overly ambitious, arguing that more modest improvements should take priority. The debate over the museum’s future is therefore both a matter of infrastructure and security and a politically contentious question of public funding and priorities.

Louvre director Christophe Leribault has warned that the world’s most-visited museum could eventually have to close to the public unless the French state funds a major overhaul. In an interview with Le Figaro, he said the next government must ensure the institution is repaired, updated and transformed, and described closure as a disaster. The museum plans to seek private funding, but Leribault says substantial public investment will also be needed after France’s next national elections. The warning comes as France’s minority governments have struggled to pass budgets and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu seeks to reduce public spending and the national deficit. The Louvre is already confronting problems including water leaks, aging infrastructure, overcrowded spaces, ticket fraud and a high-profile jewelry theft. Leribault took over in February after thieves stole crown jewels valued at an estimated $100 million in an October 19 heist the previous year. Security improvements are underway through an 83-million-euro masterplan. Measures include appointing a head of security, updating a camera network found to have outdated equipment and coverage gaps, and strengthening surveillance around the museum’s perimeter and entrances. Leribault said the plan is progressing quickly, but argued that security cannot be separated from wider repairs to the historic building and its infrastructure. He rejected the idea of an easy, superficial fix, saying the museum’s problems are interconnected. The Louvre welcomed about nine million visitors last year and is widely understood to have structural shortcomings, including old plumbing, poorly insulated galleries and cramped public areas. President Emmanuel Macron has advocated a 600-million-euro overhaul that would include a new entrance. The scale and cost of the proposed work have become politically contentious: trade unions criticized Macron and Leribault’s predecessor, Laurence des Cars, for favoring an ambitious architectural transformation over more modest changes aimed at improving visitors’ experience.

Louvre director Christophe Leribault has warned that the museum could eventually be forced to close if French lawmakers do not approve major repairs and modernization. In an interview with Le Figaro, he said the institution is deteriorating and overcrowded, and argued that it must be repaired, updated and transformed to remain viable. The Louvre plans to seek private funding, but substantial public investment may not be approved until after France’s 2027 national elections. Leribault called failure to act a “disaster.” The funding debate comes amid wider political and budgetary difficulties: successive minority governments have struggled to pass annual budgets, while Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is trying to rein in public spending and reduce the national deficit. Leribault, appointed in February after a major theft, has also made security improvements a priority. A security plan costing €83 million is being implemented. It includes appointing a new head of security, upgrading a camera network that had outdated equipment and significant gaps, and improving surveillance around the museum perimeter and its entrances. The plan follows an October 2025 robbery in which thieves stole crown jewels estimated to be worth US$100 million. Leribault says security work is inseparable from broader repairs to the historic building and its infrastructure; he rejects the idea that a quick, superficial fix would be enough. The museum, which received about nine million visitors in 2025, faces problems including old plumbing, poorly insulated galleries and cramped public spaces. The scale and cost of renovation have become politically contentious. President Emmanuel Macron has backed a €600 million overhaul that would include a new entrance, while trade unions have criticized the emphasis on ambitious architectural plans, arguing that more modest changes could better improve visitors’ experience.