Louvre Hit By Fresh Disaster As Water Leak Damages Hundreds Of Rare Books
PARIS, Dec 7 (Reuters) – A water leak last month damaged hundreds of books in the Louvre’s Egyptian antiquities section, underlining the deteriorating state of the world’s most visited museum, just weeks after a daring jewelery heist that exposed security flaws.
Specialist website La Tribune de l’Art reported that around 400 rare books were affected by poor pipe conditions.
He said that the Ministry had been seeking funds for a long time to protect collections from such risks, but was unsuccessful.
Francis Steinbock, deputy director of Le Louvre, told BFM TV on Sunday that the water pipe leak was related to one of the three rooms of the library of the Egyptian antiquities department.
“We have identified between 300 and 400 works, the counting continues,” he said, adding that the lost books were “books consulted by Egyptologists, but there were no valuable books.”
Admitting that the problem has been known for years, the official said that repairs are planned for September 2026.
On October 19, four thieves escaped in broad daylight with $102 million worth of jewels, exposing glaring security flaws at Le Louvre.
In November, structural weaknesses led to the partial closure of one of the galleries housing Greek vases and offices.
A report published in October by France’s public oversight body, known as the Cour des Comptes, said the museum’s failure to update its infrastructure was exacerbated by excessive spending on artworks.
