Emmanuel Macron has promised to return the Louvre to its former glory in an ambitious renovation project that is forecast to cost between €700 and €800 million (£586 and £670 million). The President outlined details of what he called his ‘New Renaissance’ project on Tuesday as he stood in front of the Mona Lisa, the most famous painting in the musem. As part of the revamp, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece will have its own room and visitors will pay for the privilege of seeing the enigmatic smile.
Other initiatives include a second entrance – to ease the current congestion of 30,000 visitors a day – and a new entrance fee from next January that will require non-EU visitors to pay more. There will also be a comprehensive overhaul of the museum’s infrastructure, from galleries to bathrooms.
Neither the government or the President is appreciated by the people
Macron made his announcement in response to a damning interview earlier in the month by the president of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, who said that some parts of the gallery were in ‘a state of serious disrepair’, citing rooms that were no longer watertight and others that were subjected to worrying swings in temperature, endangering the conservation of paintings. Des Cars told the press last week that she has drawn attention to the dilapidated state of the Louvre ‘on numerous occasions’ – including an appearance before the National Assembly’s committee on cultural affairs and education in April 2024 – but to no avail.
So why has Macron acted with such alacrity now? His agenda isn’t what it used to be and he has a lot of time on his hands. Since last summer’s snap parliamentary election, he and his centrist party has been stripped of their power and a fragile coalition led by Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is running the country – or at least trying to.
Neither the government or the President is appreciated by the people; a recent opinion poll found that 79 per cent of respondents have an unfavourable opinion of Macron. Significantly, he is now losing the support of even the retired, traditionally his most loyal backers. As Le Monde puts it today, Macron is ‘trying to maintain a visibility that has been slipping from his grasp. And culture…is one of the few areas where he can still showcase his waning influence’.
Last month, the world watched in admiration as the renovated Notre Dame cathedral reopened, five years after it was engulfed by flames. That was a rare moment of pride for Macron in an otherwise disastrous year.
This year has not started well for the President. It was announced last week that the fourth quarter of 2024 saw the sharpest rise in unemployment (up by 4 per cent) in France in a decade. This followed the news that a record 66,000 businesses went bust in 2024; forecasts predict that the casualty list will be even greater this year with 68,000 expected to file for bankruptcy. Not surprisingly, only 17 per cent of small business owners have confidence in their president and his government.
Violent crime continues to rise unchecked, and, in the latest incident to shock the nation, a 14-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in central Paris on Friday as he left football training. He was killed because he refused to hand over his phone. Two boys, aged 16 and 17, have been charged by police.
Even the little things are going wrong in Macron’s France. A fortnight ago, the International Olympic Committee issued a statement promising to replace the ‘defective medals’ awarded to athletes at last summer’s Paris Olympics. Athletes have reported the disintegration of over 100 of their medals and the IOC has said it will work with the Monnaie de Paris (France’s state mint) to issue replacements.
If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, a French-language AI chatbot that launched last week, with government support, has been withdrawn because it was anything but intelligent. ‘Lucie’, as the chatbot was called, struggled with basic arithmetic and claimed that cows lay eggs. ‘We were carried away by our own enthusiasm,’ said Lucie’s creators.
One could say the same of Emmanuel Macron. When he was elected president in 2017, he gave his victory address at the Louvre. A new page is being turned in the history of France, he declared, and ‘I want it to be a page of hope and renewed trust’. Eight years on and the Louvre, like Macron’s presidency, is falling apart. At least the museum can be restored.
