Things are heating up at the Louvre (or rather not)

While the second hearing session of the National Assembly’s Inquiry Commission on museum security took place today, the Louvre continues to sink further into problems that demonstrate, week after week, that its governance must be completely overhauled, and above all that the “Grande Colonnade” project should be urgently abandoned to focus on real priorities.

Thus, for several days, part of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities, notably around the room housing the mastaba, was filled with a very strong smell of urine emanating from the floor vents. The source of these fumes, which caused severe discomfort to both staff and visitors, was eventually found: it was a leak behind the wall of the restrooms. The issue has since been repaired.
This incident hardly seems exceptional at the Louvre given the frequency of such events. A few days ago, during a general meeting to decide whether to continue the strike, which delayed the museum’s opening, an electrical incident occurred in a technical room of a lift not far from the Mollien staircase. Firefighters intervened quickly, which should be credited to the Louvre, and there was no visible damage [See the postscript for a clarification added after publication.].

An intervention, however, will be much slower, and it also raises fire safety concerns. Indeed, the wings known as Mollien and Bord-de-l’Eau, within the Denon wing, have, since the flooding in the Library of Egyptian Antiquities (see the article), been without heating. This affects the offices of the Departments of Eastern Antiquities, Greek and Roman Antiquities, Egyptian Antiquities, Islamic Arts, Byzantine and Eastern Christian Antiquities, as well as the offices of the unions and the Directorate of Public Reception and Security (DAPS), and even those of the General Management, up to the office of the president-director.

1. State of corrosion of the hydraulic networks
Photo taken from the document presented to the trade unions on 15 January