Louvre boss warns of closure risk unless museum is 'repaired, updated and transformed'

The Louvre was the scene of an embarassing jewellery heist last year. © Dimitar Dilkoff, AFP

The world's most-visited museum "will eventually have to close its doors to the public" unless the French state steps in to finance a major overhaul, Louvre director Christophe Leribault told Le Figaro on Wednesday, in the latest dire warning about the creaking institution hit by a string of scandals including water leaks, ticket frauds and a high-profile jewel heist.

The Louvre museum risks having to close its doors to the public unless lawmakers approve a major overhaul of the creaking and over-capacity institution, its head told a French newspaper on Wednesday.