“At a time when immediacy and forceful rhetoric seem to have hypnotic power … talking about long-term issues, culture and art is one of the messages that France can deliver to the world,” said Macron, who celebrated his first presidential victory in front of the Louvre Pyramid.
Macron did not put a price tag on what he called the “new Louvre Renaissance.” He said it would be paid for by the museum’s own resources and private donors, not taxpayer money. However, most donations are tax deductible, and the French government needs all the revenue it can get if it hopes to start closing its widening budget deficit.
Prime Minister François Bayrou’s government has already proposed €53 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts, and the government has already warned that it would not sign off on big investments for the Louvre.
Still, the Ministry of Culture will spend €10 million to explore the project’s development — a figure which has been priced in to the current budgetary discussions, Macron said. The French president also signed off on an idea put forward by Culture Minister Rachida Dati to increase ticket prices for non-European visitors — a proposal she also put forward for Notre Dame Cathedral, which reopened last month to much fanfare.
But many who work in or with the museum say money should be spent on much-needed refurbishments before embarking on any new construction.
A leaked note published by daily newspaper Le Parisien on Wednesday detailed the museum’s dire state, listing several defects such as extreme temperatures and water-tightness issues that threaten the well-being of the artworks on display.
