Paris: Europe and the Arabs

The Louvre Museum announced that a water leak on November 27 damaged several hundred items in its library of ancient Egyptian antiquities, confirming a report published by the newspaper La Tribune de l'Harriere.

Between 300 and 400 works dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries, used by researchers, Egyptology journals, and scientific documents, were affected.

According to the museum's announcement on Sunday, the leak was discovered on November 27 in the hydraulic system supplying the heating and ventilation equipment in the library, located in the Moulins Wing.

The leak was caused by the accidental opening of a pipe.

This hydraulic system has been closed for several months and is scheduled for replacement starting in September 2026. An investigation is currently underway to determine the exact cause of the leak. According to the Brussels-based news network Euronews, the Louvre Museum has been facing a precarious situation since the surprise attack on October 19th. In November, it was forced to close one of its galleries due to the damage.

To finance the renovation, the museum plans to raise admission prices for non-European visitors by 45% starting in 2026. The Louvre, the world's most visited museum, welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024, 69% of whom were from abroad.