In a “confidential” letter sent by Laurence des Cars to Rachida Dati which was conveniently leaked to the newspaper The Parisian (property of Bernard Arnault), the president and director of the Louvre alerts the minister about the building situation at the Louvre. To tell the truth, there is nothing new in this real-false letter. The president and director has been advocating for a major work plan for the Louvre for a long time.
Last May, Laurence des Cars explained to the deputies of the cultural commission of the National Assembly that it was urgent to renovate the part of the building which had not been renovated during the 1980-1990 work on the Grand Louvre, to relieve congestion the room which exhibits the Mona Lisa and to better regulate the flow of visitors. To support her remarks on the state of the building, she recalled the water infiltration in the Sully wing in November 2023 which forced the museum to close the “Claude Gillot” exhibition. It has been a long time since several of the fountains surrounding the Pei pyramid stopped working to prevent leaks.
One of the solutions to better regulate the flow of visitors is to limit the gauge but above all to open a new entrance to the east of the Louvre as she has indicated on several occasions, notably during an interview at the Arts Journalor to Echoes (property of Bernard Arnault). The project consists of opening an access in front of the colonnade of the Louvre, opposite the Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois church. One of the advantages of this entry is to give direct access to the Egyptian collections. The City of Paris supports this project which would liven up this vast, somewhat deserted esplanade and connect it to the nearby stores of La Samaritaine (owned by Bernard Arnault).
The colonnade of the Louvre, built between 1667 and 1670.
But all this is expensive, between 80 and 100 million euros according to several sources. With public finances in the current state and current and future investments in heritage sites amounting to billions of euros, it seems difficult to finance this work with public funds.
Rachida Dati gave the solution to Figarolast October: “My position on this subject is very clear: I would like non-EU visitors to pay more for their entry ticket and for this supplement to finance the renovation of national heritage. The French are not intended to pay for everything, on their own. This is a real break in the pricing policy of our cultural establishments. We are working on it, for implementation on January 1, 2026”.
Of all the national museums, the Louvre is the most likely to benefit from this increase in the ticket for non-Europeans which is currently €22. An increase of €5 for American, Brazilian, Chinese and English tourists (i.e. nearly 2 million people) would bring in 10 million euros per year and would thus make it possible to finance the work spread over several years. If legally this differentiation does not pose too many problems, as Pierre Noual recalled, in practice this requires the creation of distinct lines
L’AFP reports that Emmanuel Macron is following the matter closely and is preparing to make announcements. Continuing the well-oiled communications plan, Rachida Dati indicated yesterday on France Info that innovative financing had to be found. History will remember that it was not Donald Trump who triggered the tariff war between the United States, China and Europe, but Emmanuel Macron by making American and Chinese tourists pay more for access to the Louvre!
Visitors in front The Mona Lisa in September 2023.
