France named Christophe Leribault on Wednesday to lead the Louvre, selecting the director of the Palace of Versailles to replace Laurence des Cars, who resigned on Tuesday amid intense criticism tied to a major jewellery heist and other operational issues, government spokesperson Maud Bregeon said.
The appointment comes after burglars stole jewellery in October with an estimated value of $102 million that remains missing, a breach that laid bare significant security shortcomings at the world’s most-visited museum.
In announcing President Emmanuel Macron’s choice, the Culture Ministry set out Leribault’s initial priorities. "Leribault’s priority will be to strengthen the safety and security of the building, the collections, and people, to restore a climate of trust, and to carry forward, together with all the teams, the necessary transformations for the museum," the ministry said.
Leribault, 62, brings a long career focused on historic art and museum leadership to the post. He is an 18th-century art historian who previously ran Paris’ Musée d’Orsay and the Orangerie before taking charge at Versailles in 2024. The ministry said he will leave his Versailles role to assume leadership at the Louvre. He also served as deputy director of the Louvre’s department of graphic arts from 2006 to 2012.
Beyond the headline-grabbing theft, the Louvre has faced repeated disruptions since mid-December as staff strikes over pay and working conditions forced temporary closures. Operational headaches have also included water leaks and a lengthy ticket-fraud investigation that prosecutors say diverted more than 10 million euros over a decade.
Those problems coincided with a state auditors’ report last year that recommended the Louvre shift funds away from acquisitions toward overdue security and infrastructure upgrades. The museum, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, has therefore been under pressure on multiple fronts.
The appointment aims to address these intertwined challenges of physical security, internal morale and institutional governance. Leribault’s prior roles and his earlier experience within the Louvre’s graphic arts department were cited by the ministry as relevant credentials for the complex task of stabilizing operations and restoring public confidence.
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