All change at the Louvre
Emmanuel Macron announces overhaul of Paris institution following a series of issues

The Mona Lisa will be moved to a new space at the Louvre following warnings about overcrowding and crumbling infrastructure at the Parisian museum.
Speaking in front of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece yesterday, Emmanuel Macron said the famous work will have a "special space" as part of what he called "a new renaissance" at the venue.
Leaks and buckets
Around 75% of the museum's 30,000 daily visitors go to see Leonardo da Vinci's painting, but the experience has "become an endurance test", said the BBC, with a "constant crowd being funnelled through" and having "on average 50 seconds to observe the picture and take photos".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Earlier this month, the Louvre's director Laurence des Cars told the French government that the pyramid was "structurally unable to cope" with visitor numbers that now reach more than nine million a year.
She warned of "worrying temperature swings which endanger the conservation of works of art" and water leaks. The pyramid, which serves as the main entrance, also tends to amplify noise, making the space uncomfortable for both visitors and employees, des Cars said.
An employee told France24 that, "on a daily basis", there are "a lot of problems with water infiltration via roofs and broken pipes", and "when there is heavy rain, water run-off sometimes reaches paintings on display". To deal with leaks, said another employee, staff often "end up putting buckets in offices".
Macron's new Renaissance
Speaking at the Louvre, Macron set out details of his New Renaissance project, which includes an international competition to design a second entrance to relieve the growing pressure of visitor numbers beneath the famous glass Pyramid.
He said the overhaul would not cost the French taxpayer "a single centime", because the renovations, which will cost an estimated €700 million to €800 million (£587 million to £671 million), will come from the museum's "own resources".
But he had bad news for art lovers from the UK: he said visitors from outside the EU will have to pay more than those from within the bloc to help fund the changes.
Misguided snobbery
The decision to move the Mona Lisa is a "misguided act of snobbery", said Jonathan Jones in The Guardian. High visitor numbers are a "wonderful headache for a museum to have", and moving the famous work to a "special hygienically isolated gallery" where "les idiots" won't "bother more cultured visitors" may ruin the Louvre's "ecosystem as a place where high art becomes popular culture".
An Italian politician has called for the celebrated painting to "return home" to Italy, said The Times. In an official note, Francesca Caruso, culture chief for the Lombardy region, said that "we are ready to host the Mona Lisa".
But Macron's powers have been "significantly curtailed" since he lost control of the French parliament, said the BBC, so he's been looking for a "new cause" to "assure his legacy".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Rep. Sylvester Turner dies, weeks after joining House
Speed Read The former Houston mayor and longtime state legislator left behind a final message for Trump: 'Don't mess with Medicaid'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses Ukraine intelligence sharing
Speed Read The decision is intended to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rules against Trump on aid freeze
Speed Read The court rejected the president's request to freeze nearly $2 billion in payments for foreign humanitarian work
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gilbert & George and the Communists: an 'illuminating' look at the 'peculiar' world of the art duo
The Week Recommends The collaborative art pair's journey to Moscow in 1990 is chronicled in this 'excellent' book
By The Week UK Published
-
Sleep like you are in a gallery at these art-filled hotels
The Week Recommends Prepare to be inspired
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The Secret Painter: Joe Tucker's 'witty and touching' memoir explores lifelong hidden talent
The Week Recommends A 'fitting tribute' to a man who explored working-class communities in his art
By The Week UK Published
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The 8 best items to buy from beloved museum gift shops
The Week Recommends Enjoy these artsy products from the comfort of home
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
From Panopticon to pleasure dome: Dutch prisons transformed
Under the Radar The Netherlands is turning its domed prisons of 'terror' into vibrant community spaces
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Explore new worlds this winter at these enlightening museum exhibitions
The Week Recommends Discover the estrados of Spain and the connection between art and chess in various African countries
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
10 concert tours to see this winter
The Week Recommends Keep warm traveling the United States — and the world — to see these concerts
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published