Louvre president tells Senate the museum is 'running out of steam,' needs over €1 billion renovation after jewellery heist

A struggling giant

With nine million visitors a year, the Louvre is the planet’s most visited museum, but its new president says the institution is at a breaking point. Testifying before a French Senate committee on 17 June 2026, Christophe Leribault described a building whose systems are failing after decades of underinvestment. More than 10,000 Greek vases must be moved just to allow structural repairs to one wing, and an accumulation of urgent building works now confronts the museum.

We can say it bluntly: despite its imposing majesty, despite the daily commitment of its teams, it is a Louvre running out of steam. Its equipment and infrastructure are reaching the end of their life cycle.

The heist that changed everything

On 19 October 2025, a brazen daylight theft of crown jewels exposed deep security gaps. The stolen imperial jewels were valued at an estimated $100 million, and the embarrassing incident led to the previous director stepping down. Leribault, an art historian specialising in the 18th century, took over in February 2026 with a mandate to fix the weaknesses.

Louvre Nouvelle renaissance

The museum’s answer is a colossal renovation project baptised Louvre Nouvelle renaissance, carrying a price tag in excess of €1 billion. Leribault called it “an absolute necessity”. The plan covers not only security but also ageing galleries, climate control, and visitor services. Additional financial blows have come from repeated strikes, a ticket fraud scheme that may have cost the museum €10 million ($11.7 million), a water leak, and other maintenance backlogs.

Security overhaul

Emergency measures are already in place. A few extra cameras have been installed “in absolutely critical locations where deficiencies were found,” Leribault said, but stressed “we cannot recreate an entirely new network with hundreds of cameras without strengthening the technical backbone.” A new security command centre will open in October 2026, and a new perimeter video surveillance system covering the entire museum will go live in January 2027.

We are of course urgently installing a few additional cameras in absolutely critical locations where deficiencies were found, but we cannot recreate an entirely new network with hundreds of cameras without strengthening the technical backbone.