Macron says Mona Lisa will be moved as part of a major overhaul of Louvre

An international competition will be held to design a second entrance at the Louvre Museum in Paris to ease the increasing pressure of visitors’ numbers under the famous glass pyramid.

The announcement was the high point of address of President Emanuel Macron – made in front of an audience by dignitaries in front of Mona Lisa – in which he outlined his new renaissance project for the most common museum in the world.

The other major change, which will be introduced until 2031, will be the relocation of Mona Lisa to a new exhibition space, which visitors will be charged separately for a visit.

Changes in tariffs will also be introduced next January so that residents outside the EU pay more to enter the museum.

Macron was answering warnings from Louvre Director Lawrence Des Cars that the museum is suffering from serious problems with overcrowding and unsuccessful infrastructure.

In a letter to the government published earlier this month, Da -Ja Des Kars stated that the pyramid – who since 1989 had housed the unique point for access to the galleries – was “structurally not able to cope” with the number Visitors who now reach more than nine million A year.

She also said that “according to everyone, Mona Lisa’s performance … is something that needs to be considered.”

About three quarters of 30,000 visitors to the museum go to see Leonardo da Vinci’s picture, but the experience has become a test for durability, with a constant crowd transferring through the Salle des Etats and getting an average of 50 seconds to watch the photo and get a picture They accept and take the picture and photos.

“The public … there is no way to understand the work of the artist who raises questions throughout our public service mission,” says G -Jia Des Cars in her letter.

According to the Macron project, the eastern facade of the museum – which is today on a classic colonnade, proposed by an artificial moat and a little used esplanade – will be redesigned.

A new entrance will give immediate access to new underground exhibition spaces under a Kur Kare, which in turn will connect to the area under the pyramid.

Macron said the new front – the biggest change in the museum after the project of President Francois Mitter 40 years ago – will contact the city plans to create a tree -filled esplanade.

He, he said, will help integrate the museum in the city and “return it to the Parisians.”

He added that the removal of Mona Lisa from his current position would allow the museum to present it properly and facilitate the examination of other masterpieces that are “too often neglected”, on display in Salle des etats.

In the coming years, major repair works will be undertaken to modernize infrastructure and provide new facilities for toilet, restaurant and rest.

The total price is placed at several hundred million euros.

Macron said that the project would not cost taxpayers nothing, as it would be funded through ticket sales, donations and sponsorship of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum.

His powers were significantly restricted after the loss of control over the French Parliament six months ago, the president is looking for a new cause to guarantee his inheritance.

His very commendable guide to the renewal after a fire from the Cathedral of Notre Dam seems to have reflected his appetite for such a cultural major project The Louvre.