The new Louvre tickets will be more expensive for visitors from outside the European Union | Culture

The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced his Louvre Renaissance Plan to remodel the Parisian Pinaco. The director of the museum, Laurence Des Cars, sent an explosive letter to the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati. In the document, which was theoretically private and confidential, it spoke of a panorama of extreme decline: leaks, poor conservation of works of art, deterioration of a “ancient” building and, above all, an unsatisfactory experience for visitors. Today, the Head of State, with all the imaginable pomp, before the picture of the Game In the States of the States, he explained somewhatly a plan that will consist of building a new entry to increase the reception capacity of the Pinacoteca, create a special room for Lenorado Da Vinci’s masterpiece and the implementation of a new system of More expensive tarification for extra -community visitors.

Macron surprised with the idea of ​​establishing a higher entry price for foreigners from countries outside the European Union, as previously raised by the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati. “This project will aim to apply to other museums or monuments” and must enter into force in “January 2026,” he said. A system that seeks higher income to finance remodeling, but also distils a certain protectionism in the middle of Trump era. In addition to this collection measure, a special ticket will be created to visit the new module where the Game. That is, the transfer of the iconic painting not only seeks to contribute comfort to the visit – the Sala of the States was saturated with tourists only interested in contemplating the Da Vinci picture – but will allow to have extra income. According to Macron, there are visitors who make the trip to Paris simply to see this work and have no interest in the rest of the collection. Now, they can do it by paying a special price.

Macron did not give the economic figures of the project or admitted questions. But according to the Presidency environment, the New Renaissance Plan is valued at approximately 700 or 800 million euros. The new entrance and the creation of new spaces under the square patio of the Louvre, scheduled for 2031, will cost approximately 400 million and will be financed with funds from the Louvre Abu Dhabi and through patronage operations, as already done with Notre Dame. On the other hand, the works destined to combat the aging of the facilities and adapt them to the influx of visitors are valued by about 300 to 400 million euros, distributed in a decade, financed in part by the increase in the price of the ticket for visitors foreigners not belonging to the European Union.

A very high amount taking into account that the Head of the State ensures that he will self -financed (beyond 10 million euros that the Ministry of Culture will contribute annually). “A new great entrance will be created” at the Perrault colonnate level, Macron announced first, with the aim of decongesting the glass pyramid. This project and all of the works of this new access will be financed entirely with “the museum’s own resources, the ticket offices, the patronage and the Louvre Abu Dhabi license, without loading the taxpayer”. “This project will also guide the restoration of the gardens of the Carousel and the Tublerías,” added the Head of State. The design of the new entry will be commissioned by a public tender and will be inaugurated “no later than 2031.”

The last great reform of the Louvre occurred in the mid -80s, when François Mitterrand occupied the Elysium Palace. So, among other things, Ieoh Ming Pei, one of the most prolific and venerated architects in the world, the design and construction of the Great Crystal and Iron Pyramid that would serve to welcome visitors in a more orderly way. The chaos ended then. But the great era of mass tourism began. And even this reform does not maintain today the environmental and comfort standards, explain sources of Elysium. In fact, the construction becomes a kind of oven where visitors who queue patiently are cooked over low heat.

The project includes the creation of new reception rooms for the public, designed according to current standards. In line with the vision of Laurence Des Cars, president of the Louvre, these underground rooms, built under the square patio and in the pits excavated by the then Minister of Culture, André Malraux, in front of the facade, will include “new reception and orientation ”, as well as exhibition rooms and cultural mediation. This new distribution will require reorganizing the collections of several departments, especially those of Eastern and Egyptian antiques.

The solemnity of the announcement of some remodeling works of the museum also show the political point in which the President of the Republic is. Stripped of the majority of government functions, the head of the State clings to large ads so as not to lose focus during the two long and complicated years that are missing to finish their mandate. The night of the 2017 presidential elections was presented in front of the glass pyramid to celebrate his victory. If today “the president puts himself in the care of the Louvre,” said sources from Elysium the previous day, it is because it is considered, despite his loss of power, as “long -term guarantor”, in charge of “protecting everything that constitutes the heritage, pride and prestige of the country ”. “This new rebirth project for the Louvre must represent, for art, art history and its transmission, a new stage in the life of the nation,” concluded the President of the Republic.

Macron did not explain whether the museum or part of it must close during remodeling, something that would mean a serious damage to the city of Paris. Its other great museum, the Pompidou Center, is in a similar situation and must close its doors to carry out some works next summer and will last until the beginning of 2030. The project was initially planned to start in 2023, but postponed with the In order to keep it open for 2024 Olympic Games.