Managing the fallout of the crisis has been one of the most urgent tasks on Dati’s agenda.
Dati said earlier earlier this month she would leave her ministerial post as she runs for mayor, but three people with direct knowledge of her talks with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said she has insisted on keeping the job as long as possible.
“She wants to appear as the one who resolved the Louvre issue,” said someone close to Macron.
Des Cars said in an interview with Le Figaro that she decided to resign now to ensure that the ambitious plans to modernize the Louvre could move forward without distraction.
“The Minister of Culture asked me to stay the course during the storm, which I did. I got through this period, I believe, with a cool head. I am calm and proud of the work I have accomplished. But staying the course is not enough,” des Cars said.
In a statement acknowledging des Cars’ departure on Tuesday evening, Dati’s Culture Ministry wrote that the incident had “destabilized an institution at the heart of our country’s cultural and heritage influence.”