Rachida Dati questioned by the president of the Louvre on the state of “obsolescence” of the museum

The president of the Louvre, Laurence Des Cars, alerted the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, about the state of the Parisian museum, pointing out a “multiplication of damage” and the need for major works, according to a “confidential note” revealed Wednesday by The Parisian. This note, dated January 13, denounces “the severe reality of the state” buildings of the most visited museum in the world, “too busy” and many of whom “are reaching a worrying level of obsolescence”reports the newspaper.

The document, partly reproduced on the daily’s website, evokes a “multiplication of damage in the museum spaces which are sometimes very degraded”. “Some are no longer waterproof while others experience significant temperature variations, endangering the conservation of the works”it is added.

Another complaint: “the physical test” to which visitors to the Louvre are subjected, deprived of space “allowing you to take a break”. “The food supply and sanitary facilities are insufficient, well below international standards. The signage must be completely redesigned”it is detailed. The Parisian also cites the “significant gaps” attributed to “the design” of the great glass pyramid of the Louvre, a space inaugurated in 1988, “very inhospitable” THE “hot days” and at “phonic treatment (…) very poor”.

The museum entrance is unsuitable

The note further emphasizes the need to“question” the “presentation of the Mona Lisa in the Salle des Estates”the largest in the museum. In April 2024, Laurence Des Cars had already announced that she was thinking, “in connection with the Ministry of Culture”to an improvement in the exhibition conditions of the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, which according to her deserves a separate room. The opening of a second entrance to the museum in order to relieve congestion of the main one, located under the Pyramid, is also among his projects. The latter was originally designed to accommodate “four to five million visitors per year”according to the Louvre, whose attendance will approach 9 million in 2024.

Generally speaking, “this situation can no longer tolerate the status quo”argues Laurence Des Cars at the conclusion of his note, thanking Rachida Dati “for kindly wanting to attract the attention of the Head of State” Emmanuel Macron on this issue, which he intends to take up, according to the Parisian. Contacted by AFP, the Louvre and the Ministry of Culture did not react on Wednesday evening.