More hassle in the Louvre. Due to a leak in the Egyptian Antiquities department, around four hundred books, mainly antique, in the collection of the French museum were damaged. A number of books have been damaged “irreparably”, the trade magazine writes La Tribune de l’Artwhich announced the news last week. The oldest works date from the late nineteenth century.
The leak occurred on November 26 around 9 p.m. in the library of Egyptian Antiquities. The water seeped through the floor and reached an electrical box, which could have caused a fire, according to La Tribune. Francis Steinbock, deputy director of the museum, says no news channel BFMTV that the works that have been damaged are “important”, although he wants to emphasize that they are “absolutely not valuable books”.
Recently, especially since the controversial jewelry theft in October, there has been a lot of criticism of the most visited museum in the world. The Louvre is struggling with a lot of overdue maintenance and structural technical problems. For example, the jewelry heist revealed security problems at the museum. Through a balcony on the Seine side of the museum, thieves stole millions in art treasures in broad daylight with a moving elevator.
Renovation
The poor condition of the pipelines in the Louvre had also been known for some time. The Egyptian Antiquities Department had been asking Steinbock for funding “for years” to protect the books, La Tribune writes. The necessary work would finally take place in September 2026.
Early this year announced French President Emmanuel Macron that renovation of the museum would cost between 700 and 800 million euros. The French Court of Auditors Darling these costs are much higher, at 1.15 billion euros, and warned earlier this month that “a lot of investments are coming for the museum […] who cannot finance it.” According to the Court of Audit, the financing gap is caused by excessive expenditure on works of art, while neglecting core tasks such as maintenance.
At the end of November – a day after the leak – the Louvre announced that it would significantly increase price tickets for non-European visitors. The price of a ticket for this group will increase by 45 percent, to 32 euros.
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