A water leak on the Louvre has broken tons of of books – simply weeks after jewels value £76m have been stolen from the well-known Paris museum.
The Louvre’s deputy administrator Francis Steinbock informed French broadcaster BFM TV the leak affected one of many three rooms of the Egyptian antiquities division’s library.
He mentioned employees have recognized “between 300 and 400 works” which were broken, including that “the count is ongoing”.
The volumes misplaced have been “those consulted by Egyptologists but no precious books”, he added.
Mr Steinbock additionally acknowledged the issue had been identified for years and mentioned repairs have been scheduled for September subsequent yr.
The leak, which came about final month however has solely been revealed at present, underscores considerations over the deteriorating state of the world’s most-visited museum.
In November, the Campana gallery – which homes historical Greek ceramics – was briefly closed attributable to structural weaknesses.
The gallery’s 9 rooms are adjoining to the Apollo gallery, which was focused by thieves who stole objects a number of the French Crown Jewels in October.
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Louvre: How ‘heist of the century’ unfolded
The audacious smash-and-grab noticed two males escape with £76m-worth of jewels after accessing the museum’s first ground with a furnishings carry and cracking open show circumstances with angle grinders – all whereas the Paris museum was open to guests.
French police have made a number of arrests in relation to the theft however the stolen artefacts haven’t been recovered.
Earlier than the heist, the Louvre’s high administrator had warned about situations contained in the museum, which was visited by 8.7 million individuals final yr.
Valerie Baud from the CFDT, a French commerce union federation, mentioned employees representatives had been warning in regards to the state of the constructing for years as a result of “it affects working conditions and visitors”.
“But we didn’t realise it was this bad,” she mentioned. “It is a major deterioration in the situation.”
