A water leak at the Louvre damaged 300-400 Egyptian journals and documents, weeks after a major jewel theft raised infrastructure concerns
PARIS: A water leak at the Louvre museum has damaged several hundred works in its Egyptian department.
The leak, discovered on November 26, affected between 300 and 400 items, according to the museum’s deputy administrator Francis Steinbock.
He described the damaged works as “Egyptology journals” and “scientific documentation” used by researchers.
The items date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and are “extremely useful” but are “by no means unique”.
Steinbock confirmed that “no heritage artefacts have been affected by this damage”.
He added that “at this stage, we have no irreparable and definitive losses in these collections”.
The incident follows a major jewel theft at the museum in October.
A four-person gang stole jewellery worth an estimated $102 million in just seven minutes before fleeing.
That heist sparked debate over the museum’s ageing infrastructure.
The Louvre said an internal investigation into the November leak is underway.
The leak was caused by the accidental opening of a valve in the heating and ventilation system.
Water seeped through the ceiling of the Mollien wing where the books were stored.
The “completely obsolete” system has been shut down for months.
It is due to be replaced from September 2026, the museum administrator added.
The damaged works will “be dried, sent to a bookbinder to be restored, and then returned to the shelves”.
In late November, the Louvre announced it would raise ticket prices for most non-EU visitors.
Tourists from the US, Britain and China will now have to pay 32 euros to get in.
The museum said the 45% price hike aims to boost annual revenues by up to $23 million.
This funding is intended for structural improvements at the cultural institution.
The Louvre is the world’s most-visited museum, welcoming 8.7 million visitors in 2024.
Sixty-nine percent of those visitors were from abroad. – AFP
