Louvre museum director Laurence des Cars resigned on Tuesday after a series of setbacks for the world-renowned museum. A high-profile jewel heist in October raised questions about security lapses while labour strikes and reports that the building is falling into disrepair have led to calls for an overhaul of the famous landmark.
Issued on: 24/02/2026 - 18:01Modified: 25/02/2026 - 14:41
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday accepted the resignation of the head of Paris's Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel heist and rolling strikes.
Read moreBurst water pipe and ticket fraud charges add to Louvre museum's woes
Macron's office said the president accepted Laurence des Cars' resignation while praising "an act of responsibility" at a time when the world's largest museum "needs calm" as well as a renewed mission to spearhead major projects including a security revamp and an overall modernisation.
Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102 million that are still missing, exposing glaring security gaps at the world's most-visited museum. Several suspects were later arrested.
Strikes over pay and poor conditions have led to regular closures, adding to a list of woes that included two water leaks as well as a massive ticket fraud investigation.
Critics including the state auditors' office have questioned the museum's low spending on security and infrastructure maintenance while it made lavish purchases of new artwork, only a quarter of which are open to the public, and spent heavily on post-pandemic projects.
For many in France’s cultural world, the resignation answers months of head-scratching over why no top official had fallen after the heist: a daylight robbery that many here saw as the most humiliating breach of French heritage security in living memory.
The latest announcement is the latest in a string of blows for the crumbling former royal palace, amid growing complaints that the museum’s infrastructure and staffing haven't kept pace with the crowds pouring through its galleries.
Read more'A source of French pride'? Louvre museum's poor conditions prompt outcry
The succession of crises has lent new weight to a project Macron has heavily championed: the Louvre’s sweeping overhaul plan, branded the “Louvre New Renaissance”.
Unveiled by Macron in January 2025, the renovation – which could take up to a decade – aims to modernise a museum widely seen as overstretched and physically worn down by mass tourism.
The plan includes a new entrance near the Seine River to ease pressure on the entrance at I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid, new underground spaces and a dedicated room for the “Mona Lisa” with timed access – all intended to improve crowd flow and reduce the daily crush that has become a symbol of the Louvre’s success and its dysfunction.
The project is expected to cost roughly €700-€800 million ($826-$944 million) in funding from a hike in ticket prices, state support, donations and income revenue from the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Macron has framed the overhaul as a national priority, comparing its ambition to other landmark French restoration efforts and casting it as part of a broader defense of French cultural prestige.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AP)
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