Louvre Museum director displayed “act of responsibility” months after high-profile crown jewelry heist.
According to France24, French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, February 24, accepted the resignation of the head of Paris's Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel heist and rolling strikes.
Macron's office said the president accepted Laurence des Cars' resignation while praising "an act of responsibility" at a time when the world's largest museum "needs calm" as well as a renewed mission to spearhead major projects including a security revamp and an overall modernisation.
Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102 million that are still missing, exposing glaring security gaps at the world's most-visited museum. Several suspects were later arrested.
Strikes over pay and poor conditions have led to regular closures, adding to a list of woes that included two water leaks as well as a massive ticket fraud investigation.
Critics including the state auditors' office have questioned the museum's low spending on security and infrastructure maintenance while it made lavish purchases of new artwork, only a quarter of which are open to the public, and spent heavily on post-pandemic projects.
The resignation announcement is the latest in a string of blows for the crumbling former royal palace, amid growing complaints that the museum's infrastructure and staffing have not kept pace with the crowds pouring through its galleries.
