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Macron to visit Louvre after warning over museum's poor conditions Mona Lisa to be moved as part of major Louvre overhaul
(about 2 hours later)
President Macron outlined his New Renaissance project in the exhibition room housing the world-famous Mona Lisa painting
The Mona Lisa will be moved to a new exhibition space at the Louvre in Paris as part of a plan to renovate the world's most frequented museum.
Emmanuel Macron stood in front of the masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci as he made the announcement to an audience of dignitaries, with the change to be introduced by 2031 and visitors charged separately to see the painting.
The French president was outlining his New Renaissance project, which will also involve an international competition to design a second entrance to relieve the growing pressure of visitor numbers beneath the famous glass Pyramid.
Tariff changes will also be introduced from next January so that non-EU residents pay more to visit.
Every day some 30,000 people pass through the Louvre's turnstiles, making it the most visited museum in the worldEvery day some 30,000 people pass through the Louvre's turnstiles, making it the most visited museum in the world
The Louvre is crumbling and needs a massive injection of state cash if it is to cope with ever-rising visitor numbers, the museum's president has said. Macron was giving his response to warnings from the Louvre's director Laurence des Cars that the museum was suffering from grave problems of overcrowding and failing infrastructure.
Laurence des Cars issued the stark warning in a leaked letter to the government raising the alarm over power-cuts, flooding, and failing infrastructure. In a letter to the government made public earlier this month, Ms des Cars said the pyramid - which since 1989 has housed the unique access point to the galleries - was "structurally unable to cope" with visitor numbers that now reach more than nine million a year.
She said that the famous glass pyramid – which since 1989 has housed the unique access point to the galleries – was "structurally unable to cope", and that Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, which is seen by 20,000 people every day, may have to be moved. She also said that "in the view of everyone, the presentation of the Mona Lisa... is something that needs to be looked at".
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken a personal interest in the museum's problems, will visit the Louvre on Tuesday amid speculation he may announce a new investment plan. About three-quarters of the museum's 30,000 daily visitors go to see Leonardo da Vinci's painting, but the experience has become an endurance test, with a constant crowd being funnelled through the Salle des Etats and getting on average 50 seconds to observe the picture and take photos.
However his powers have been significantly curtailed since he lost control of parliament six months ago, and the precarious state of France's finances – with the 2025 budget still in dispute – makes any big financial commitment highly contentious. "The public... has no way of comprehending the artist's work, which raises questions over our whole mission of public service," Ms des Cars said in her letter.
According to Christian Galani of Louvre employees' trade union, "not a day goes by without some new sign of the building's decline – paint flaking, exhibition and storage rooms flooded, power-cuts, late-payments to contractors because there's no money." Under Macron's project, the eastern facade of the museum - which consists today of a classical colonnade fronted by an artificial moat and a little-used esplanade - will be redesigned.
In November 2023 a temporary exhibition in the Sully wing had to be moved after just a few days because of a flood. A new entrance-way will give immediate access to new underground exhibition spaces beneath the Cour Carré, which will in turn connect with the area beneath the pyramid.
Big variations in temperature – from 10C in winter to 30C in summer – cause discomfort to staff and visitors, as well as posing a threat to the conservation of art-works. Macron said the new front - the biggest change to the museum since President François Mitterrand's Grand Louvre project 40 years ago - would tie in with city plans to create a tree-filled "green" zone on the esplanade.
The temperature problem is most starkly felt in the pyramid of architect Ieoh Ming Pei, which was designed to cope with four million annual visitors but today faces more than double that. Every day some 30,000 people pass through the turnstiles, making the Louvre the most visited museum in the world. It would, he said, help integrate the museum into the city and "give it back to the Parisians".
In her letter, Laurence des Cars raised the need for better toilets, cafés and rest areas. She also said that "in the view of everyone, the presentation of the Mona Lisa... is something that needs to be looked at." He added that removing the Mona Lisa from its current position would allow the museum to present it properly, and make it easier to view other masterpieces, which are "too often overlooked", on display in the Salle des Etats.
Around three-quarters of the museum's visitors go to see Leonardo da Vinci's painting, but the experience has become a trial, with a constant crowd being funnelled through the Salle des Etats and getting on average 50 seconds to observe the picture and take photos. Major renovation work will also be undertaken in the coming years to modernise infrastructure, and provide new toilet, restaurant and rest facilities.
"The public... has no way of comprehending the artist's work, which raises questions over our whole mission of public service," Ms des Cars said. The overall cost is put at several hundred million euros.
Among the options under consideration is the opening of a new entrance to the Louvre beneath the colonnades at the palace's eastern end. Currently there is a large open space here, with an empty moat that is not original but was created in the 1960s. Macron said the project would cost the taxpayer nothing, as it would be funded through ticket sales, donations, and the museum's sponsorship deal with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
By digging underground at the moat, and in the neighbouring Cour Carrée, new spaces could be created to ease congestion, improve facilities, and possibly house a re-located Mona Lisa. Another option for the painting would be to remove it from the main collection and require visitors to pay an extra fee. His powers significantly curtailed since losing control of the French parliament six months ago, the president has been in search of a new cause with which to assure his legacy.
The Louvre received a state subsidy of €96m (£80m) in 2024. In 2023 it had receipts of €161m from tickets and events, as well as €83m from its sponsorship arrangement with the Louvre Abu Dhabi. His much-praised leadership in the post-fire renovation of Notre-Dame cathedral appears to have whetted his appetite for a similar grand projet at the Louvre.
With more state money unlikely, the museum is looking increasingly to the corporate donors and philanthropists that raised €840m to rescue Notre Dame cathedral after the fire.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati is also known to support increasing entrance fees for non-EU visitors.