New Louvre Director Faces Major Challenges After Predecessor's Troubled Tenure

Christophe Leribault has taken over as director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, appointed by President Emmanuel Macron on February 25. He succeeds Laurence des Cars, whose leadership was marked by significant controversies, including a major theft of crown jewels in October, management failures, and staff unrest. Reports from France's state auditing body, the Cour des Comptes, and parliamentary hearings criticized Des Cars for inadequate security spending, with less than 0.3% of the budget allocated to safety measures, and for prioritizing a costly new entrance project over essential infrastructure updates. Des Cars was accused of an autocratic style, with union representatives describing her approach as top-down and haughty, leading to strikes from mid-December. Leribault, a 62-year-old art historian with a background at institutions like the Musée Carnavalet, Petit Palais, and Musée d'Orsay, is tasked with appeasing staff and addressing a backlog of maintenance issues estimated to cost €480 million for technical masterplans. Macron supports a controversial subterranean entrance project with a budget that has ballooned to €666 million, deemed financially unsound by auditors. Staff have expressed relief at Leribault's arrival, citing his experience and human-focused management, but the challenges include navigating political pressures and securing funding.