{
  "id": 14466641,
  "title": "Louvre could be forced to close without major overhaul, director warns",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/louvre-could-be-forced-to-close-without-major-overhaul-director-warns",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-14T14:06:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Euronews",
    "slug": "euronews",
    "url": "https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/14/louvre-could-be-forced-to-close-without-major-overhaul-director-warns"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Louvre, the world's most-visited museum, may be forced to close its doors to the public unless France's next government supports a major overhaul, warned its director Christophe Leribault. Speaking to Le Figaro, Leribault emphasized that the museum will seek private funding for the necessary changes, but a significant public investment will be required after the national elections next year. Leribault stated that the Louvre risks falling behind and eventually closing its doors without the needed repairs and transformations.\n\nSuccessive minority governments have struggled to pass annual budgets, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is trying to curb public spending to reduce France's massive deficit. In the aftermath of last year's heist, Leribault, an art historian who previously ran the Musée d’Orsay, assumed his new role in February. On October 19, 2025, a four-man gang, using a lorry-mounted lifting platform, broke into the Apollo Gallery and stole eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels, valued at €88 million. The jewels remain missing.\n\nA year later, Leribault spoke out about the security measures being implemented, including a new security head, upgraded camera network, and improved perimeter surveillance. However, he stressed that these efforts are part of a larger overhaul of the museum, which welcomed nearly nine million visitors in the previous year. Leribault emphasized that lasting improvements require work on the historic building and its infrastructure, with interconnected and linked challenges.\n\nThe museum faces issues with old plumbing, poor insulation, and cramped spaces. A leaked memo from Laurence des Cars in January 2025 revealed that some areas are no longer watertight, and visiting the Louvre can be a physical ordeal. A burst heating pipe in February damaged a Charles Meynier painting from 1819. The scale and cost of the required work have become deeply political, with President Emmanuel Macron championing the Louvre – New Renaissance project, estimated at €700–800 million over a decade. This investment includes a new entrance, but trade unions have criticized the focus on grandiose architectural plans over more modest improvements to the visitor experience.",
  "summary": "A year after thieves made off with €88 million of crown jewels that have never been found, the new man in charge says leaking pipes and crumbling galleries mean security fixes alone won’t save the Paris landmark.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "RFI English",
        "title": "Louvre director says major renovation plan will be ‘extremely complex’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/louvre-director-says-major-renovation-plan-will-be-extremely-complex",
        "published": "2026-10-14T13:56:23.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}