The world’s most visited museum sparks alarm as its own success causing ‘physical strain’

The head of an iconic museum warned its country’s government that the landmark’s popularity was causing “physical strain” to the building, as she raised concerns about the state of the site.

Laurence des Cars, the director of the Louvre in , raised the concerns in a confidential note to Culture Minister Rachida Dati earlier this month, published in Le Parisien newspaper on Thursday, as per AFP.

Des Cars, the first woman to take up the role, warned the minister of a “proliferation of damage in museum spaces, some of which are in very poor condition”.

Some areas, she claimed, “are no longer watertight, while others experience significant temperature variations, endangering the preservation of artworks”.

While acknowledging the budgetary limitations the  government is currently facing, Des Cars said the building required an overhaul, which would likely be technically complicated and costly. 

The Louvre welcomed 8.7 million people in 2024, and it regularly tops the list of the most visited museums on Earth.

But it was only designed to accommodate four million, as per , and Des Cars believes its popularity is causing a “physical strain” with visitors lacking spaces “to take a break”.

According to the outlet, Des Cars’ memo also said, “food options and restroom facilities are insufficient in volume, falling well below international standards” and called for signage to undergo a “complete redesign”.

She even raised issues with one of the museum’s newest features, a glass pyramid designed by the Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei and inaugurated in 1989. Des Cars told Dati the structure had  “major shortcomings”.

“On very hot days, the glass roof creates a greenhouse effect, making this space very inhospitable for the public who pass through and the agents who work there,” she said in the memo, adding that it can also be noisy due to the acoustics of the area.

Des Cars, who took on the role in 2021, also said the museum needed to “reassess” how Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece the Mona Lisa, which attracts huge crowds, is presented to the public, noting that last year it required its own dedicated room.

Since taking over the directorship, des Cars has spoken out about the site reaching “saturation point,” as per The Guardian, and in one of her first major changes imposed a cap of 30,000 per day while extending the Louvre museum’s opening hours.

She has also voiced her support for creating a second entrance other than the pyramid in a bid to “irrigate” the rest of the museum.

France’s Ministry of Culture has been approached for comment.

Dati, a right-wing conservative who was appointed by  in January 2024, has been vocal about her concerns for ‘s cultural treasures, and is calling for charges to be introduced for visiting the newly-opened Notre Dame Cathedral in .

In an interview with Le Figaro, published online in October, Dati had claimed that “charging admission to Notre-Dame would save all the churches in ”.

All of the money raised would be devoted to “a major plan to safeguard France’s religious heritage”, she said at the time, in a proposal previously backed by the French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

Dati also wants to modulate the pricing of national monuments and museums from 2026, saying that “visitors from outside the EU” could pay “more” than French visitors to “finance the renovation of our national heritage”.

France’s Catholic church has strongly resisted the move, insisting such buildings should be free for both worshippers and tourists, though some cathedrals do have entry fees for certain areas like bell towers, crypts and treasuries, as per .