More trouble at the Louvre, the Parisian museum that houses masterpieces such as the Venus de Milo, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese.

Overnight, the world's largest museum suffered a water leak, forcing the closure of several rooms. This was confirmed by union leaders Christian Galani of the CGT and Valérie Baud of the CFDT, following reports from BFMTV. The leak, in the Denon Wing, required the intervention of firefighters. According to sources, it affected, among other things, "Room 707," which houses Italian masterpieces including Fra Angelico.

Furthermore, following the sensational robbery last October, police busted a ring that had been running fake tickets and tours for a long time, both at the famous museum and at the Palace of Versailles. Nine arrests were made, with losses totaling €10 million to the coffers of France's two most famous tourist sites. Among those arrested in the raid were Louvre employees and at least one tour guide. According to the prosecutor's office, the "organizer of the network" of fraudsters was also among those targeted.

The spiral of troubles plaguing the famous museum shows no signs of abating after the October 19 robbery, a spectacular heist during opening hours, in which €88 million worth of the Crown Jewels were stolen. The loot has never been recovered, despite the four perpetrators being tracked down within days. The mastermind has never been identified. In Tuesday's raid, police seized over €957,000 in cash and €486,000 in various bank accounts. The scam had been ongoing for a long time, so much so that those arrested are accused of reinvesting part of the loot "in real estate, in France and Dubai."

The investigation began in December 2024, following a complaint filed by the museum's management, which alerted the anti-illegal immigration authorities. A pair of Chinese tour guides had been targeted by museum security. Apparently, they were skilled at smuggling entire groups of Chinese tourists into the museum without charging anyone a ticket. According to the prosecutor, "the guides repeatedly reused the same tickets for different people."

Other museum guides were subsequently caught defrauding "using the same methods," the prosecutor's office continued, revealing that the authorities had implemented "special surveillance" and "wiretaps" that confirmed the museum management's suspicions: tickets were being purchased once and then reused multiple times. The investigation led to the identification of "accomplices within the Louvre," whom "the guides could rely on by guaranteeing them cash while they turned a blind eye to the checks."

Among the other cluster problems that have recently emerged at the Louvre following the daring robbery in October are the indefinite strikes by employees demanding better working conditions. The museum has also come under criticism for its aging facilities and the lack of restrooms available to visitors.

(Unioneonline)

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