The Louvre’s Egyptian antiquities library suffered damage to numerous rare books following a burst pipe, just weeks after the museum faced a daring jewel theft.
Speaking to BFM TV, the museum’s deputy administrator, Francis Steinbock, shared that the flooding affected one of the three rooms dedicated to the Egyptian antiquities library.
“We are currently estimating damage to 300 to 400 works, though the final count is still underway,” Steinbock reported, assuring that “no irreplaceable books” were lost. Most affected items include periodicals and archaeology journals, essential resources for Egyptologists.
According to Steinbock, the team is still determining the full extent of the damage and has started drying out the soaked books. The process involves dehumidifying each page using Buffard paper and modified plants.
Visitors stroll outside the Louvre Museum on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, in Paris. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
La Tribune de l’Art, an art-focused publication, attributed the burst pipe to aging infrastructure, noting that the department has long sought funds to safeguard its collection. Steinbock admitted the problem has been recognized for years, with plans for repairs set for September 2026.
The leak underscores the museum’s aging infrastructure just weeks after thieves stole crown jewels in a brazen daytime heist that exposed glaring security gaps at the museum.
A police car parks in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum, one week after the robbery, on Oct. 26, 2025, in Paris. (Thomas Padilla, File/AP Photo)
A four-person team stormed the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery in broad daylight on Oct. 19, stealing jewels valued at 88 million euros ($102 million) in less than eight minutes.
Police arrested and charged four men suspected of being a part of the robbery crew in the subsequent weeks. A woman was also arrested, though she has denied involvement through her lawyer.
Police secure the area outside the Louvre Museum in Paris, where burglars used a truck-mounted moving lift to reach a second-floor window and steal royal jewelry valued at more than $100 million. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)
The stolen items have not been recovered. They include a diamond-and-emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise, jewels tied to 19th-century Queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense, and Empress Eugénie’s pearl-and-diamond tiara.
The emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later found outside the museum.
