New Louvre Chief Christophe Leribault Reveals His Vision for the Museum Post-Heist
Christophe Leribault, the Louvre’s new director and former president of the Palace of Versailles until February, outlined a post-heist vision for the museum in a May 5 interview with Le Monde. The Apollo Gallery—where a $100 million theft occurred in October last year—will reopen in July with Louis XIV’s mineral display cases removed to the Richelieu wing, reframing the hall to emphasize its Romantic Apollo wall paintings. With France’s crown jewels still missing and five people charged, the Louvre is also planning a future display of Empress Eugénie’s diamond-and-emerald crown, which was dropped and crushed during the theft and is being restored after losing only 10 of its more than 1,300 diamonds. Leribault confirmed security upgrades including window bars, a promise of 100 new surveillance cameras by the end of 2026, a mobile police station during peak periods, and a new security coordinator, following criticism that under 5% of more than €80 million ($94 million) allocated to security had been properly invested and the February resignation of director Laurence des Cars.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Biennale Uprisings, Looted Legacies Unravel