Price hike on non-EU visitors will fund Louvre's ‘renaissance’, Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron announced a "new renaissance" for the Louvre on Tuesday, including a multi-million-euro revamp to be funded by a hike in ticket prices for non-EU visitors. Among the key changes will be the creation of a new entrance and dedicated space for the famed Mona Lisa painting.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited Paris's Louvre museum on Tuesday and announced plans for a "new grand entrance" as he unveiled a plan to upgrade the world's most-visited museum.
In a speech in front of the Mona Lisa, Macron said that the new access would help ease congestion at the Pyramid entrance which was designed for a maximum of 4 million visitors a year but today receives up to 9 million.
He added that the Mona Lisa would be moved to a new exhibition spot where it would be "independently accessible compared to the rest of the museum", with "its own access pass".
He said the works would be financed entirely using the museum's "own resources".
Macron's announcement was made days after the museum's director issued a warning about the dire conditions for visitors and artefacts at the Paris landmark.
"The Louvre is a symbol of France, it is a source of French pride," an aide to Macron told AFP. "It would be wrong to remain deaf and blind to the risks affecting the museum today."
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