Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum, is in dire state and is asking for help.
Ther home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa has requested urgent help from the French government to restore and renovate its ageing halls and better protect its countless works of art.
Built in Paris in the late 12th century, the Louvre Palace for centuries was the official residence of the kings of France, until Louis XIV – weary of rebellious crowds in Paris – abandoned it for Versailles, after which it became a museum for the royal art collection in 1793.
Last year, the Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors, who all entered via the pyramid-shaped western entrance, designed by architect I.M. Pei, which itself has become problematic as its greenhouse effect makes the Louvre’s subterranean reception uncomfortably hot on summer days.
In a letter to Culture Minister Rachida Dati Louvre President Laurence des Cars warned that the centuries-old building is in a dire state, and pointed at problems with water leaks and “worrying temperature swings which endanger the conservation of works of art”.
A visit to the Louvre, the museum’s head wrote, has become “a physical ordeal”, with artworks being hard to find due to inadequate signage, lack of space for visitors to take a break, and insufficient food and sanitary facilities.
Designed to receive four million visitors a year, the Louvre saw record attendance of 10.2 million visitors in 2018, but des Cars – who was appointed in 2021 – has imposed a limit of 30,000 visitors per day in order to avoid overcrowding.
Overtourism factbox
Bali to Italy: 39 destinations cracking down on overtourism
- Numerous global destinations are implementing measures to combat overtourism.
- These measures include tourist taxes, entry fees, visitor caps, and restrictions on short-term rentals and cruise ships.
- Locations like Venice, Santorini, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Bali are among those taking action.
- The initiatives aim to protect environments, infrastructure, and local communities from the negative impacts of excessive tourism.
- Protests and campaigns by residents are also playing a role in pushing for change.
- Read the full story.
Des Cars’ letter did not mention financing, but French TV news channel BFM said renovation costs could amount to 500 million euros ($520 million), which would be a challenge for President Emmanuel Macron’s government which has struggled to gets its 2025 budget approved by parliament.
Le Parisien reported that talks are under way between Macron’s office, the culture ministry and the Louvre. A source close to Macron’s office confirmed that “the president has followed this issue with attention for several months”.
The culture ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After his first election in 2017, Macron gave his victory speech in front of the Louvre, while the Tuileries gardens around the former palace also played a prominent role during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Besides a top-to-bottom renovation, the museum is also considering building a new wing for the Mona Lisa, as well as a new entrance on the eastern end of the museum, to relieve congestion at the Pyramid entrance.
The news comes as the museum is, for the first time, displaying haute couture gowns and accessories from fashion houses, including Chanel, Saint Laurent and Dior.
“Paris is the capital of fashion, there is a very strong relationship between the fashion houses and Paris, and the Louvre is in the heart of Paris,” Olivier Gabet, director of the museum’s decorative arts department, told Reuters on Friday at the opening of the couture exhibition.
Fashion houses have used the grounds of the Louvre for shows – but not the museum itself – and fashion designers, including Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy and Karl Lagerfeld, have long had an affinity for the museum and its collections.
But Gabet said the exhibition was “the first time the Louvre brings fashion inside the museum in this way”.
A silk ball gown designed by John Galliano for Dior in 2006 sits in the centre of a room dedicated to Louis XIV, lined with ornate, gilded furniture and towering portraits of the Sun King.
In another room, Alexander McQueen’s platform Armadillo shoes from 2011 are displayed in a case next to a 17th-century plate featuring pond life.
“The idea of this kind of exhibit is to say ‘come to the Louvre, look at the collections differently,’” said Gabet.
