Christophe Leribault, who recently took the reins at the Louvre in Paris, said that the museum could close altogether if it does not receive renovations that would improve the institution’s security and aging infrastructure.
“Whoever forms the next government must keep in mind that if the Louvre is not repaired, updated and transformed, it will very quickly fall behind and will eventually have to close its doors to the public,” Leribault told Le Figaro on Wednesday. “That would be a disaster.”
The Louvre, which received 9 million visitors in 2025, is typically known for its masterpiece-laden collection, which is rich in great artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Eugène Delacroix, along with a range of famed ancient artifacts. But more recently, the museum has made headlines for perceived weaknesses in its management and security systems.
During a daytime heist that took place almost exactly one year ago, in October 2025, thieves stole million in French crown jewels collectively valued at $102 million, some of which have still not been recovered. The ensuing controversy surrounding the heist spurred the museum’s last director, Laurence des Cars, to resign, leaving the post open for Leribault, who started earlier this year.
Plans to update the Louvre, accounting for crowd flow and security issues, have themselves become the matter of debate. In February, the Louvre postponed a competition to select an architect in charge of expanding the museum that had been announced less than a year prior. Previously, the plan had been given a $788 million price tag; it had faced protests from Louvre workers, who claimed that it focused too much on moving the Mona Lisa to its own gallery at the expense of systemic issues in need of fixing.
Then, in May, with Leribault now at the helm, the museum resumed the project, naming Selldorf Architects and Studios Architecture Paris as the winners of the competition.
In prior interviews, Leribault pegged the cost of the renovations project at $1.24 billion. He has said the project, begun by des Cars prior to her departure, would prioritize security, telling the Financial Times, “Security must be integrated from the outset into all our choices.
Leribault appeared to suggest that any plan to alter the Louvre would be costly and difficult in his Le Figaro interview published on Wednesday. “There is no easy, miracle ‘surface’ solution,” he said. “Everything is interconnected, everything is linked.”