(toskanews) – Water leaks, overcrowding and substandard catering, the Louvre is in trouble, at least according to a confidential note sent by the director Laurence des Cars, the first woman to direct the gallery, to the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati. message, revealed by the newspaper Le Parisientalks about museum spaces in terrible conditions and subject to temperature changes that put the conservation of works of art at risk. Des Cars refers to the restoration of the Pompidou museum, the famous Beaubourg which from September will close for five years for a 262 million euro renovation.
The Louvre galleries were visited last year by 8.7 million people – around double the number they were designed for – and Des Cars expresses concern about the quality of the experience for users who have no space and no way, he says, to take a break; the pressure of visitors creates “physical stress” on the historic building. Yet since 2021 it has imposed a maximum limit of 30 thousand entries per day and has extended opening hours.
Furthermore, «catering options and toilets are insufficient in terms of volume, well below international standards. The signs need a complete redesign”, continues the note. Even the famous glass pyramid inaugurated in 1989 has “serious shortcomings” and especially on the hottest days becomes “inhospitable” and too noisy.
As in other major European cities, international tourism has seen a strong recovery in Paris following the Covid pandemic. About 70% of visitors to the Louvre last year were foreigners. And again, the Mona LisaLeonardo’s masterpiece which is the museum’s most popular attraction: tourists continually complain about the crowds, and the director stresses the need to “re-evaluate” the way in which the masterpiece is presented to the public.
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