After four months of stoppage due to the coronavirus pandemic, visits resume Monday at the Louvre, the most visited museum in the world. The conditions for this reopening are specific: wearing a mask is, for example, compulsory from the age of 11. Reservations must also be made, except for those with free access, such as those under 26. The course will be signposted and going back will not be possible.
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70% of the public establishment, or 45,000 m2, will be accessible. The busy areas, as well as Antiquities, especially Egyptian, will be open to the public. Places that are more complex to manage will remain closed for the time being. The gauge of 1,000 people must also be respected in each of the three wings of the museum.
Around € 40 million loss
Foreign visitors will be few, due to the very gradual reopening of borders. "We are losing 80% of our audience. 75% of our visitors are of foreign origin," laments Jean-Luc Martinez, the museum's president and director, with Europe 1. "The coronavirus crisis has already caused more than 40 million euros in losses "at the Louvre, he also announced. Jean-Luc Martinez expects three financially difficult years and advocates a revival through "cultural democratization" aimed at young people and more modest audiences, especially in the Paris region.
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Free "discovery" tours for young people
To attract a new audience, the Louvre has set up free "discovery" tours without reservations. Every half hour, mediators will introduce young people to the treasures of the museum, from Egyptian antiquities to the Venus of Milo, including masterpieces by Delacroix and Ingres. The more than three months of closure were also an opportunity for communication teams to develop the online virtual museum, with many films, podcasts, games, which were widely consulted. With the hope that this online attendance will encourage the general public, especially young people, to go to theaters.