#the louvre

The pieces that were stolen are among the very few (for a European collection) pieces of French royal jewelry remaining in public collections in France, and are more likely than not going to be dismantled for their gems really fast so lost forever. Their historical and cultural value is incalculable, because, again, we simply do not have a lot of French royal jewelry.

Even more worryingly, the Louvre which is the biggest museum in the world and one (if not the) most visited museum, is probably the French museum making the most money (sorry for the link to the Figaro, but this article is in fact full of interesting data). That such a theft can happen at the Louvre probably means that all the collections presented in French public museums are in danger of being robbed.

The Louvre from Paris, France 2024.

"The Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors last year — more than double what its infrastructure was designed to accommodate. Even with a daily cap of 30,000, staff say the experience has become a daily test of endurance, with too few rest areas, limited bathrooms, and summer heat magnified by the pyramid’s greenhouse effect.

In a leaked memo, Louvre President Laurence des Cars warned that parts of the building are “no longer watertight,” that temperature fluctuations endanger priceless art, and that even basic visitor needs — food, restrooms, signage — fall far below international standards. She described the experience simply as “a physical ordeal.”