---
title: "France's Louvre Museum closes gallery due to structural weakness"
description: "PARIS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - France's Louvre Museum on Monday closed a gallery hosting Greek vases and office spaces as its structures designed in the 1930s are in a dire state, the world's most visited museum said, less than a month after a daring heist exposed its vulnerabilities."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-11-17-frances-louvre-museum-closes-gallery-due-to-structural-weakness/"
published: "2025-11-17T21:03:03"
updated: "2025-11-17T21:03:05"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 273
---

# France's Louvre Museum closes gallery due to structural weakness

> PARIS, Nov 17 (Reuters) - France's Louvre Museum on Monday closed a gallery hosting Greek vases and office spaces as its structures designed in the 1930s are in a dire state, the world's most visited museum said, less than a month after a daring heist exposed its vulnerabilities.

By Reuters · Published 17 November 2025, 23:03 SAST · Updated 17 November 2025, 23:03 SAST

## Key points
- In a stunning twist of irony, the Louvre’s crumbling beams have forced the closure of the Campana gallery—just as it grapples with the aftermath of a brazen jewel heist that left security looking as shaky as its infrastructure.
- A technical report revealed structural weaknesses in the Louvre's Sully wing, prompting the closure of the Campana gallery and relocation of 65 staff.
- The Campana gallery, near the recently targeted Apollo gallery, has faced staff concerns over deteriorating conditions for years.
- The museum's management has been criticized for neglecting security and infrastructure in favor of art acquisitions, following a recent high-profile heist.
- The October 19 theft saw historical jewels worth $102 million stolen, with ongoing investigations into four suspects and no recovery of the items yet.

## Content

A new technical report showed weakness in the beams under the second floor of the Sully wing, making it necessary to close the Campana gallery on the first floor and relocate 65 museum staff from the second, the Louvre said in a statement.

The Campana gallery is adjacent to the Apollo gallery, home to the French crown jewels which were targeted in last month's heist.

"Staff representatives have been warning about the condition of the building for years, because it affects working conditions and visitors," said Valerie Baud of the CFDT union.

"But we didn't realise it was this bad," she said. "It is a major deterioration in the situation."

After a heist carried out with relative ease, the closure of the gallery is another sign of the museum's dereliction as highlighted by a [state auditor](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3WI0CH&linkedFromStory=true)'s report which said the management had neglected security and infrastructure in favour of artwork acquisitions and post-pandemic relaunch projects.

On October 19, two men parked a movers' lift outside the building, rode up to the second storey, smashed a window, cracked open display cases with angle grinders and drove away on motorbikes with historical jewels worth $102 million.

The jewels have not yet been recovered, though four suspects are being investigated.

Originally built in Paris in the late 12th century, the Louvre Palace was for centuries the official residence of the kings of France, until Louis XIV - weary of rebellious crowds in Paris - abandoned it for Versailles, after which it became a museum for the royal art collection in 1793.

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi and Tassilo Hummel, editing by Inti Landauro and Ed Osmond)