Louvre Plans Security Upgrades, Gallery Reopenings, and a Harder Budget Trade-Off
The Louvre is entering a long period of repair, and the changes will be visible well before the museum’s larger renovation plan takes shape. Christophe Leribault, the museum’s director, said the Apollo Gallery is scheduled to reopen in July, even as the institution continues to absorb the fallout from the October heist and the strain of years of deferred maintenance.
The gallery will not return exactly as visitors remember it. The display cases that once held the Sun King’s minerals will not be reinstated, and Empress Eugénie’s crown, damaged during the theft, remains under restoration. According to Leribault, 10 of the crown’s more than 1,300 diamonds were lost.
Security is being expanded as well. The Louvre plans to install 100 new surveillance cameras by the end of 2026, part of a broader effort to harden the museum after the theft exposed vulnerabilities in its infrastructure. Those measures sit within the Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance, the multiyear €1-billion project announced by French president Emmanuel Macron in January 2025. Leribault said the winner of the architectural competition will be announced on May 13, but construction is not expected to begin before 2028.
In the meantime, the museum is already in motion. Ancient Greek vases are being moved from the Campana Gallery while it is restored, escalators in the Richelieu wing are being renovated, and offices from two wings are being relocated as repairs continue. The work is meant to address basic needs — roofing, heating, circulation — while also reshaping how visitors move through the building, including a new Seine-side entrance intended to ease pressure on I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid.
Leribault also signaled a possible shift in the museum’s collecting priorities. The Louvre is currently required to devote 20 percent of ticket sales to acquisitions, but he is proposing reducing that share to 12 percent so the difference can help fund renovations. “We need to be able to prioritize, renovation work is at the top of our list,” he said. “The Louvre is entering a period of transformation that will require energy, time, and focus from our teams. The presence of contemporary art will no doubt be more sporadic in the coming years.”
The pressure is not only architectural. Staff protests over overcrowding and deteriorating working conditions led to walkouts in June, December, and January, briefly forcing much of the museum to close. Leribault said he has begun meeting with staff representatives and reviewing workload plans, while break rooms are also being renovated.
The museum’s recent upheaval has made one thing clear: the Louvre’s next chapter will be defined as much by infrastructure and labor as by masterpieces.
