The Louvre Museum has shared a concerning update about the condition of some of its ‘precious’ works, following a recent jewel theft at the esteemed Paris institution.
On October 19, individuals masquerading as construction workers executed a daring theft, seizing eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels from the Louvre’s Galerie d’Apollon.
BBC News reported that charges have been filed against four individuals apprehended in relation to the robbery.
The arrested group, consisting of three men and one woman, are believed to have formed the commando unit and reportedly lived in the Paris region.
Despite ongoing efforts, the whereabouts of the artifacts, valued at approximately €88 million ($102.547.280), remain elusive to authorities.
Unfortunately, this high-profile heist is not the only misfortune the world’s most-visited museum has faced recently.
In November, the Campana gallery, featuring nine rooms of ancient Greek pottery, was shut temporarily due to structural concerns.
Recently, reports have emerged of a water leak damaging hundreds of books, as confirmed by Francis Steinbock, the Louvre’s deputy administrator.
Steinbock informed French broadcaster BFM TV that the leak impacted one of the three rooms utilized by the Egyptian antiquities department.
This incident reportedly happened last month but was only disclosed on December 8.
Steinbock revealed that between 300 and 400 works were affected, with the assessment still ongoing.
The damaged materials, described as ‘Egyptology journals’ and ‘scientific documentation’, originate from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“No heritage artefacts have been affected by this damage,” a Louvre official stated. “At this stage, we have no irreparable and definitive losses in these collections.”
According to the BBC, after evaluating the damage, the books will be dried and sent to a bookbinder for restoration before returning to the museum’s shelves.
Steinbock mentioned to French media that the leak had been known ‘for years’ and that repairs are planned for 2026.
The Louvre, originally constructed as a defensive fortress in Paris in the late 12th century, has faced criticism from Valerie Baud of the CFDT union regarding its condition.
“Staff representatives have been warning about the condition of the building for years, because it affects working conditions and visitors,” she remarked, according to Sky News.
“But we didn’t realize it was this bad,” Baud added. “It is a major deterioration in the situation.”
Months earlier, Louvre president Laurence des Cars informed Culture Minister Rachida Dati about the museum’s ‘worrying obsolescence’, as reported by Le Parisien.
Des Cars described visiting the iconic structure in January 2025 as ‘a physical ordeal’, noting that the facilities were ‘well below international standards’.
“The situation can no longer tolerate the status quo,” she asserted, according to the outlet.
In October, France’s Cour des Comptes, a public audit body, criticized the Louvre’s excessive spending on artworks, which it claimed was ‘to the detriment of the maintenance and renovation of buildings’.
Pierre Moscovici, a senior figure within the committee, stated, “The management prioritised visible and attractive operations at the expense of the maintenance and renovation of buildings and technical installations, particularly those relating to safety and security.”
The museum currently hosts notable works like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and numerous Egyptian antiquities, among other treasures.
Official tourism statistics reveal that the museum welcomed an astonishing 8.7 million visitors in 2024.