Louvre Chief Warns of Urgent Repairs After Heist and Strikes
The Louvre’s new president-director told French lawmakers this week that the Paris museum is confronting a structural and financial reckoning that can no longer be deferred. Christophe Leribault, who took the post in February, described the institution before the French Senate on Wednesday as “at a crossroads,” with aging facilities, mounting building problems, and a security overhaul that will require major investment.
His remarks arrive in the shadow of the October 2025 theft of $102 million worth of crown jewels from the Galerie d’Apollon, a brazen break-in that exposed the museum’s vulnerabilities and drew global attention to its outdated systems. The jewels have not been recovered. In the months that followed, the Louvre saw partial closures, delayed openings, and staff strikes, as employees argued that the museum was overextended and under-resourced.
Leribault said the museum is “running on fumes” and that its infrastructure is nearing the end of its lifespan. He also said a new perimeter video surveillance system will begin installation in January 2027, while additional cameras have already been placed at “absolutely critical locations where we had noted deficiencies.”
The security push is part of the Louvre’s broader Nouvelle Renaissance renovation, a plan announced in early 2025 and expected to cost more than €1 billion, or $1.2 billion. The project would create a new entrance, add a dedicated 33,000-square-foot exhibition space for the Mona Lisa, and address long-standing security concerns. In May, the museum said Selldorf Architects of New York and Studios Architecture Paris would lead the renovation.
Funding remains the central obstacle. Leribault said the Louvre needs to raise €360 million, or $418 million, in the coming months, and expects €300 million from licensing the Louvre name to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. He said he feels “intense pressure” to secure the money.
He also defended the renovation on visitor-experience grounds, arguing that long lines, poor acoustics, and the climate of the current entrance hall create conditions that fall short of what the world’s most visited museum should offer. The existing I.M. Pei–designed Pyramid entrance was built for 4 million visitors a year; the Louvre now receives more than 9 million annually.
For a museum defined by permanence, the challenge is now one of adaptation: how to preserve the aura of the Louvre while rebuilding the systems that keep it open, secure, and legible to the public.
