PARIS — Laurence des Cars, the first female director of the Louvre Museum, resigned Tuesday following the infamous 2025 “heist of the century,” in which thieves stole €88 million ($100 million) worth of crown jewels from the museum’s Apollo Gallery.
French President Emmanuel Macron accepted Des Cars’ resignation, describing her decision as “an act of responsibility at a time when the world’s largest museum needs both stability and a strong new impetus,” according to the Elysée Palace.
Des Cars had initially offered to step down to Culture Minister Rachida Dati shortly after the robbery, but her resignation was declined at the time. She acknowledged that the museum’s security infrastructure was “absolutely obsolete, even absent,” exposing serious vulnerabilities in protecting France’s most valuable treasures.
Christophe Leribault, an art historian and director of the Palace of Versailles, has been appointed as the Louvre’s new chief, the French culture ministry announced Wednesday. Dati expressed confidence that Leribault would advance the museum’s “international relevance” and modernization while ensuring quality work conditions for staff.
The Louvre, which welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024, has faced multiple challenges, including strikes over understaffing, poor working conditions, and the management of growing tourist crowds.
President Macron also thanked Des Cars for her “undeniable scientific expertise” and assigned her a role in the framework of the French G7 presidency, focusing on cooperation among major museums of participating countries.
Des Cars, who became the Louvre’s first female director in September 2021, leaves behind a tenure marked by both historic milestones and unprecedented security crises.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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