In November, water damaged hundreds of books in the Louvre’s Egyptian section, further highlighting the poor technical condition of the world’s most visited museum, Reuters reports.
An October robbery exposed the museum’s security system when robbers broke into the museum through a second-floor balcony and made off with the French crown jewels. They have not been found, although the organizers and perpetrators of the robbery have been arrested.
The expert website La Tribune de l’Art reported that about 400 very rare works had been damaged by water, and that the poor condition of the water pipes is considered to be to blame.
The Egyptian department has been trying to find funding for a long time to prevent such a risk.
Francis Steinbock, deputy administrator of the Louvre, told BFM TV on the 7th of December that the leak was in one of three rooms in the Egyptian section of the library. He said that between 300 and 400 books were damaged, but that the inventory was still ongoing. There were no precious books among the damaged books. Steinbock also admitted that the museum had known about the problem for years and that repairs were planned for September 2026.
In November, structural defects were discovered in the museum building, forcing the partial closure of offices and a gallery displaying Greek vases. A report published in October by France’s public audit agency said that the museum’s failure to renovate its infrastructure was exacerbated by its significant spending on art.
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