Macron at the Louvre: "For the Mona Lisa, a new room with independent access"

A Louvre “rethought, restored and enlarged to become the epicenter of France’s and the world’s art history”-this, in the words of French President Emmanuel Macron, is the ambition of the Nouvelle Renaissance project that, by 2031, will transform the Louvre to make it ready to meet the challenges of the future, chief among them increased visitor pressure. The president of the French republic visited the Louvre today and gave his speech in the Salle des États, right in front of the Mona Lisa.

It will be, he explained, a “realistic” project, which will be financed by the museum with its own resources, derived from ticketing, sales, donations from patrons, and the Louvre Abu Dhabi license: the renovation, Macron explained, will not burden the pockets of the French. What will the project consist of? There will be, meanwhile, the creation of a new entrance at the level of Perrault’s colonnade: the Pyramid, as Macron reminded us, was designed for 4 million visitors, today we are up to 9, so a rethink is necessary.

Still, there will be a reorganization of the collections: in particular, new rooms will be opened under the Cour carré, which will also allow the setting up of a new room dedicated to the Mona Lisa: Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, in particular, will also have an autonomous access, therefore separate from the rest of the museum, and for which a special ticket will be required. And speaking of tickets, citizens from non-EU countries will pay a more expensive ticket. The different pricing, Macron announced, will also apply to other French museums and monuments and will come into effect as early as January 2026.

To carry out the project, an international architectural competition will be launched in late 2025, Macron announced, ahead of the reorganization, which, as anticipated, aims for completion by 2031. The Louvre, Macron said, “is a book with which we learn to read”: the French president called the museum “part of national history but also part of the message that France wants to convey to the world.” Hence, then, the importance of the operation.

Macron’s announcements come on the heels of the alarm raised by the Louvre’s director, Laurence des Cars, who, in a confidential January 13 note sent to Culture Minister Rachida Dati, stressed all the difficulties of the museum, whose structure must be totally rethought to cope with the massive influx of visitors. The future of the museum, therefore, is all to be built.

Macron at the Louvre: "For the Mona Lisa, a new room with independent access"

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