The queue of visitors in front of the Louvre may have been so long because a fraud ring was systematically selling counterfeit tickets. An investigation is now underway.Image: keystone
Police have arrested museum employees on suspicion of fraud. In addition, Mona Lisa only barely survived another water damage. What’s going on in Louvre?
02/18/2026, 03:3202/18/2026, 03:32
Since the theft of the crown jewels in October, the Louvre has not calmed down and the foundations of the world’s most famous museum are shaking. The Paris public prosecutor’s office reported the arrest of nine people over the weekend. They are suspected of having systematically sold counterfeit tickets to the Louvre for years.
In addition to museum employees, several tour guides and a suspected organizer were arrested. The focus of the investigation is a fraud system that was specifically aimed at Chinese travel groups and, according to police estimates, caused damage of over ten million euros.
The museum is silent
According to French media reports, suspicions arose after tour guides used entry tickets several times to funnel several groups into the museum one after the other. In addition, larger travel groups were apparently deliberately divided into smaller units in order to avoid reservation fees. The public prosecutor’s office assumes that museum employees helped circumvent the controls in return for payment.
At the same time, a judicial investigation has been underway since last summer against employees on suspicion of organized fraud, money laundering, corruption, aiding and abetting illegal entry and the use of forged documents. The museum management announced that it would take greater action against ticket fraud, but did not comment further on the ongoing proceedings.
Prestige project instead of emergency aid
To make matters worse, the Louvre was hit by further water damage on Friday after a pipe burst in the most heavily visited part of the museum. According to France 24, the room with the “Mona Lisa” remained intact. But an adjacent room with important Italian works from the 15th and 16th centuries was apparently badly damaged. Several rooms, including the Salon Carré, are closed to the public for the time being.
The public favorite “Mona Lisa” was also threatened by a burst pipe in one of the Louvre’s exhibition rooms at the weekend.Image: keystone
The incident is part of a series of infrastructural problems. Back in November, a burst pipe in the Egyptian department caused damage to numerous objects. In addition, the museum has repeatedly been forced to temporarily close in recent months due to strikes and a lack of staff.
The public should help pay for the renovation
Emmanuel Macron is partly responsible for the debacle. The Louvre has suffered from significant maintenance backlogs, lack of security concerns and operational bottlenecks for years. But instead of fixing the problems immediately, the president makes do with promises. He is pushing ahead with a spectacular renovation program worth 820 million euros. The time horizon mentioned is 2031, but who will pay the costs remains unclear.
Against this background, the museum recently increased admission prices for audiences from outside the European Union by 45 percent. The additional income should flow into the urgently needed renovations. Will this be enough to resolve the crisis in the house? There are good reasons to be skeptical. (aargauerzeitung.ch)