Appointed Wednesday in the Council of Ministers, Christophe Leribault takes the head of the Louvre museum, replacing Laurence des Cars. Weakened by the burglary of October 19 and an unprecedented social conflict, the former president had left office the day before. Who is his successor and what challenges await him?

Published on: 02/25/2026 - 1:47 p.m.

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The Louvre is changing its face. Emmanuel Macron appointed Christophe Leribault as president of the most visited museum in the world on Wednesday February 25 in the Council of Ministers. Until now at the head of the Château de Versailles, he succeeds Laurence des Cars, who presented his resignation the day before, after the resounding burglary of October 19 and months of internal tensions.

In a press release, the Ministry of Culture expresses its confidence in Christophe Leribault, convinced that he will be able to "rely on all the strengths of the museum" to open "a new page" in the history of the institution.

A regular at big houses

Art historian, general heritage curator, Christophe Leribault, 62, is not unknown in the landscape of French museums. Since February 2024, he has presided over the Château de Versailles, one of the most coveted cultural positions in France.

He also already knows the Louvre pyramid: between 2006 and 2012, he was deputy director of the graphic arts department there. A graduate of the Sorbonne, he began his career at the Carnavalet museum (1990-2006), dedicated to the history of Paris, before directing the Eugène Delacroix national museum. In 2012, he took charge of the Petit Palais, which he revitalized thanks to notable programming and a policy of openness to contemporary art.

Also read: Burglary at the Louvre: museums facing growing desire for their treasures

In 2021, he will already succeed Laurence des Cars as president of the Orsay and Orangerie museums. At the head of the Orsay Museum, he is boosting attendance after the Covid-19 health crisis, in particular thanks to “blockbuster” exhibitions, such as those devoted to Edvard Munch or Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise.

Elected to the Academy of Fine Arts in 2023, specialist in the 18th century, he claims an open approach to heritage. “I don’t want to only do Louis XIV”, the king behind the Palace of Versailles, he explained to Le Figaro in June 2025.

Under his presidency, the Palace of Versailles notably hosts the horse racing events of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and is continuing major restoration projects and opening up to contemporary art.

A resignation under pressure

Laurence des Cars, appointed at the end of 2021, was theoretically supposed to remain in office until 2026. But the spectacular theft of the Crown Jewels in the Apollo Gallery hastened his fall.

On October 19, 2025, a commando seized in broad daylight eight items estimated at 88 million euros. The affair caused a global shockwave and highlighted major flaws in the security systems of the museum, which welcomes some nine million visitors per year.

Also read: Burglary at the Louvre: other “heists of the century” around the world

A series of reports have pointed to a “chronic underestimation” of the risks of theft and the obsolescence of security devices, as well as the priority given to “visible and attractive operations” to the detriment of security. The outgoing president also admitted that she only became aware of an alarming audit on the vulnerability of the gallery after the burglary.

Added to this security crisis is growing political and social distrust. The leader also seemed to have been abandoned by her supervisory minister, Rachida Dati, herself leaving the government to run for mayor of Paris, and who had nevertheless refused her resignation the day after the robbery.

A colossal project and an explosive social climate

Christophe Leribault arrives in a weakened institution. Its priority: “to carry out major projects for the future of the institution” such as “securing and modernization”, declared government spokesperson Maud Bregeon.

See alsoCasse du Louvre: who is the team responsible for tracking down stolen works of art?

The internal climate is just as tense. Since mid-December, the agents have been waging the longest social conflict in the history of the museum. They denounce their working conditions and the absence of dialogue, in an establishment undermined by overcrowding and aging infrastructure. Several one-off closures have already resulted in revenue losses estimated at around two million euros. The new president will thus have to “restore a climate of confidence”, added the Ministry of Culture.

Another hot issue: the “Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance” project, a vast renovation plan announced by Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of January 2025. Valued at more than a billion euros, it notably provides for a renovation of the building, the creation of a new entrance and a new room dedicated to the Mona Lisa, the most famous portrait in the world. Contested by the unions, the project has already experienced a setback with the postponement of the appointment of a group of architects in charge of part of the site.

See alsoThe Louvre, victim of its success? Let's talk about it with J.-C. Castelain, C. Brossel, R. Azimi and O. Bizot

The new president of the Louvre will also have to look into the governance of the establishment, described as a "State within a State" by MP Alexandre Portier, at the head of a parliamentary commission of inquiry into museum security. Heard Monday behind closed doors at the National Assembly, Rachida Dati spoke of "17 measures" of reform, without revealing their content.

Added to this is a case of massive ticketing fraud, revealed at the beginning of February. According to the prosecution, a ticket embezzlement network would have cost the museum “more than 10 million euros”. Nine people, including two agents from the Louvre tourist guides, as well as a person “suspected of having organized the network”, were arrested.

With AFP

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