Louvre closes gallery due to structural issues

The Louvre Museum in Paris has announced the closure of one of its galleries due to structural weaknesses.

The Campana Gallery, which consists of nine rooms displaying Greek pottery, will be closed while engineers examine “certain columns supporting the floor,” the Louvre said.

The announcement adds to the unwelcome attention the museum has received following a high-profile heist last month in which jewels worth 88 million euros (76 million pounds, $102 million) were seized.

Criticism has focused on lax security at the world’s most visited museum in the French capital.

Four people were arrested in this incident, but no bail was recovered.

The Louvre said in a statement Monday that the decision was made due to structural problems in the second-floor offices above the Campana Gallery in the museum’s Sully wing.

“During these investigations, the Campana Gallery will be closed to the public as a precautionary measure,” it said.

Three weeks after the jewel theft, the National Audit Office released a report criticizing managers for preferring to invest in new art and exhibitions rather than basic maintenance and protection of the museum.

The report, based on findings from 2018-24, found that museums spent €105.4 million (£92.7 million) on new artwork and €63.5 million on exhibition space.

But at the same time, 26.7 million euros were spent on maintenance work and 59.5 million euros on the restoration of palace buildings.

On the day of the robbery, the suspects arrived at 09:30 (07:30 GMT), shortly after the museum opened to visitors.

The suspects arrived with a mechanical lift mounted on a stolen vehicle to access the Galerie d’Apollon via a balcony near the Seine River. The men used disc cutters to open display cases containing jewels.

Prosecutors said the thieves were inside for four minutes and escaped at 09:38 on two scooters waiting outside before switching to cars.

One of the stolen items, a crown, fell during the escape. The remaining seven gems were never found.

The prosecutor handling the case said he remains hopeful they can be rescued intact, but there are concerns they may already be out of their minds overseas.

Paris prosecutors said those arrested in the robbery that shocked France were all petty criminals and not experts in organized crime.

After the incident, security measures were strengthened around French cultural institutions.

The Louvre even transferred some of its most precious jewels to a French bank.