800 million euros in work at the Louvre museum: who will pay the bill?

Magic, sleight of hand? Pharaonic works, but which would not cost anything to the French. What calculation Emmanuel Macron has in mind to presenting, this Tuesday, January 28, his “Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance” project on Tuesday, January 28, while the day before, the whole political class and his new government already warned that he was not No question of spending one more penny on the museum while the crisis rages.

This new Louvre includes two rockets. The first, planned to last from 2026 to 2031, includes the creation of a new entry, as important as a reception capacity as the pyramid, at the end of the square courtyard, and the creation of new rooms in underground by the latter, which will notably welcome the “Mona Lisa”. This phase over five years, the budget of which is assessed in the president’s entourage at around 400 million euros, would be fully self -funded by the museum. At the rate of 200 million from the license with the Louvre Abou Dhabi, a real golden eggs for the Parisian ship museum, and the rest by large patrons, as well as the ticket office.

The price of the ticket is currently 22 euros. Emmanuel Macron announced that, from January 1, 2026, it would be increased significantly for foreigners not belonging to the European Union. The very many visitors from China, Japan, Brazil, or from the United States, would thus be used indirectly to finance major works. According to projections, this increase in ticket could generate an additional 20 million euros in profits per year.

300 to 400 million euros for the countless invisible works

The “Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance” project includes a second rocket, less spectacular but which will remain in orbit much longer, that of the countless invisible works on climate, electric or other more to standards. This budget could amount from 300 to 400 million euros (for a total cost, therefore, approaching 800 million).