Louvre director says major renovation plan will be ‘extremely complex’

Nearly a year on from a daring jewellery heist, the Louvre museum is still trying to address serious security gaps – a significant challenge for the world’s most visited museum. Its new director says a “complex” plan is under way, but the scale of the work will require further investment. Issued on: 14/10/2026 - 15:56Modified: 14/10/2026 - 15:56 3 min Reading time “We need a major Louvre plan. The operations essential to securing the museum require work on the historic building and its infrastructure,” Louvre director Christophe Leribault said on Wednesday. “There is no easy, miraculous, ‘surface-level’ solution.” His comments come nearly a year after a dramatic robbery on 19 October 2025, when crown jewels valued at around $100 million were stolen in broad daylight. While the four suspected robbers have been arrested, the jewels have still not been found. The robbery laid bare a series of security flaws and plunged the museum into an unprecedented crisis – compounded by staff strikes and a spate of mishaps. The fallout eventually led to the resignation of former Louvre president Laurence des Cars, while a series of emergency measures were introduced. Complex project Leribault, who took over in February, said work on the museum’s €83 million security master plan was “moving ahead rapidly”. The museum, which has an annual budget of €330 million – nearly €100 million of it state-funded – has installed perimeter cameras, secured access points and begun renovating its security control centre, Leribault told French news agency AFP. He underlined the “complexity” of carrying out the work while keeping the museum open to nearly nine million visitors from around the world each year. “It is a challenge, and we are working to provide the best possible solution,” he said, noting that museums exist to “preserve and protect heritage treasures – but with the aim of sharing them with everyone – rather than becoming mere vaults”. Louvre picks architects for €800m overhaul and new Mona Lisa space Leribault reiterated his support for the vast restoration project announced by President Emmanuel Macron in 2025, calling it the “only way forward if we want to secure the Louvre’s future”. Dubbed the “Louvre New Renaissance”, the plan involves renovating the building, creating an additional entrance and constructing a new gallery for the Mona Lisa. It is expected to cost around €1 billion. “Everything is interconnected, everything is linked: repairing the buildings while respecting their heritage value, adapting the museum to climate change and modern needs, and decluttering the visitor route to let the museum breathe,” Leribault said. But the renovation project is being challenged by labour unions. “We can step up security measures without going through with this project, which fails to address actual priorities and envisions an unsustainable increase in visitor numbers,” Christian Galani, a CGT union representative, told AFP. Security and funding On security, the museum has pledged to invest around €20 million a year between now and 2032 and, since July, has had a dedicated security chief overseeing measures across the museum. “The Louvre needs a cultural shift regarding security – a process that has yet to happen and will take several years,” Laurent Lafon, who closely monitors the issue as chair of the Senate’s culture committee, told AFP. “Louvre management needs to internalise the idea that security is a priority – something that had ceased to be the case.” “The trauma of the burglary is still there,” Valérie Baud, a CFDT representative at the museum, told AFP. Louvre security concerns ‘pushed aside’ in favour of prestige projects With the French government under pressure to rein in spending, Leribault has said he will seek around €330 million from private sources to help finance the wider renovation programme. At the beginning of this month, the Louvre launched a public fundraising appeal seeking €800,000 to renovate the Cour du Sphinx, or Sphinx Courtyard, in the Denon wing, which is home to the Mona Lisa and other masterpieces. The work will include replacing its glazed roof, which dates from 1934, restoring walls damaged by water infiltration and installing a new floor. The appeal forms part of a wider effort to attract private support. Groups including the historic Amis du Louvre, or Friends of the Louvre, and the American Friends of the Louvre already raise funds for the museum. For the past two years, the Louvre has also brought together celebrities and philanthropists for an annual gala dinner during spring Paris Fashion Week, raising €1.6 million in 2026 as the museum looks for additional sources of funding to help meet the cost of its overhaul. (with newswires)