Christophe Leribault succeeds Laurence des Cars at the head of the Louvre

Christophe Leribault (63 years old next October), the providential man whom Emmanuel Macron does not hesitate to move from one institution to another, is appointed head of the Louvre Museum. The president of the Château de Versailles succeeds Laurence des Cars, following the latter’s resignation. He takes office immediately.

It’s a bit of a homecoming for the curator who, after spending 16 years at the Carnavalet Museum in Paris as head of the paintings and drawings collections, joined the Louvre Museum in 2006 as deputy director of the Graphic Arts department (in charge of the collections of drawings from the French school of the 18th century) then in 2007 director of the Eugène-Delacroix National Museum, attached to the Louvre shortly before. Christophe Leribault was appointed director of the Petit Palais in 2012, a position he held until 2021. At the head of the Petit Palais, he imposed very general public programming, making it possible to double the museum’s attendance, exceeding a million visitors several times.

In October 2021, the art historian accessed a leading position by becoming president of the Orsay and Orangerie museums. He then – already – succeeds Laurence des Cars, who left to direct the Louvre. During his tenure at the Musée d’Orsay, Christophe Leribault initiated a redesign of the visitor route and undertook major work while keeping the museum open. In February 2024, while he was in full swing at Orsay, Emmanuel Macron asked him to join the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles, replacing Catherine Pgard whose interim position lasted a little too long.

Christophe Leribault’s experience at the head of Versailles was, however, short-lived since he succeeded Laurence des Cars, less than two years after his arrival at the castle. The new president and director “will have the priority of strengthening the safety and security of the building, the collections and people, of restoring a climate of trust and of carrying out the transformations with all the teams”. If the official press release is unambiguous on the restoration component (“Louvre-Demain”) of the “Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance” project, it is more imprecise on the “Louvre Grande Colonnade” component, the subject of debate on its financing.