British tourists will have to pay more to enter the Louvre in Paris under plans announced by Emmanuel Macron at the museum on Tuesday.
Non-EU citizens are being targeted by the French president as he seeks to raise money for the attraction, which has been plagued by overcrowding, leaks and outdated facilities.
During Mr Macron’s visit, he also said Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa will be given a dedicated space.
The world’s most-visited museum will undergo a full-scale renovation, which he said would be finished by 2031. The last upgrade dates back to the 1980s, which is when the Louvre’s glass pyramid was unveiled.
ADVERTISEMENT
The renovation will include a new entrance near the River Seine and the creation of underground rooms. Mr Macron did not disclose how much it was expected to cost, but said the bill would not fall on French taxpayers.
The French president’s visit came as his approval ratings plummeted to their lowest level since he took office in 2017.
Laurence des Cars, the Louvre’s director, warned last week that some parts of the museum were in “very poor condition”.
In a leaked memo, she said some areas “are no longer watertight, while others experience significant temperature variations, endangering the preservation of artworks”.
Meanwhile, Italy waded into the conversation surrounding conditions inside the Louvre, with one official saying it was “ready to welcome” the Mona Lisa to Milan.
Mr Macron’s announcement came amid questions about how the painting should be displayed in the museum. It is currently behind protective glass in the Louvre’s largest room, which regularly results in long, noisy queues.
ADVERTISEMENT
It also means other important paintings in the same room, including by Titian and Veronese, go almost unnoticed.
The Louvre received 8.7 million visitors last year, three quarters of whom were from overseas.
Around half of the museum’s budget is financed by the French government, including the wages of over 2,000 employees.
The other half is provided by private funds, including from ticket sales and earnings from restaurants and gift shops. It also receives funding from special partners, such as the United Arab Emirates, which uses the brand for the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum.
Last week, Spain targeted non-EU citizens, blocking them from buying second homes as it seeks to ease a housing crisis.
Pedro Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, said: “We will propose to ban these non-EU foreigners who are not residents and their relatives from buying homes in our country, since they only do so to speculate.”
EMEA Tribune is not involved in this news article, it is taken from our partners and or from the News Agencies. Copyright and Credit go to the News Agencies, email news@emeatribune.com Follow our WhatsApp verified Channel
