Major Water Leak at Louvre Damages Hundreds of Historical Books

In another incident at the Louvre recently, a pipe burst in the museum, damaging hundreds of books that must now undergo restoration.

The leak occurred in the museum's Egyptian antiquities department, specifically inside one of the department's three library rooms. According to initial reports, at least 300 to 400 books were damaged, but a more accurate count is currently underway.

Local officials say that some of the books were hundreds of years old, dating back to the late 19th and 20th centuries, but did not include any ancient texts from Egypt's history before then. Apparently, most of the books were Egyptology journals or scientific findings instead of original, ancient Egyptian texts. Because of this, Louvre employees are not extremely concerned about the books, as they were "useful" but not unique.

They added that none of the books damaged are irreparable– all of them are simply books that can be dried page by page to try to restore it to its original form.

However, the leak is yet another sign of the Louvre's failing, old infrastructure after a major jewel heist just two months ago. Four thieves were able to break into the Louvre in broad daylight, stealing various crown jewels from the famed museum's Apollo Gallery and escaping in just eight minutes. The thieves escaped with eight jewels that were collectively worth around $102 million, and while several arrests have been made, the jewels have still not been recovered.

During the theft, the alarms did go off, but authorities did not have full surveillance of the exterior of the building, and the only camera on that side of the Louvre happened to be pointing in the opposite direction of the thieves. This lack of infrastructure, crucially, slowed police down, as they were not able to pinpoint where the robbers were conducting the heist.

Museum officials have confirmed that the exact area of the ventilation and heating system that experienced the leak is set for a complete refurbishment in September 2026, and the entire Louvre will undergo a massive, $93 million renovation beginning next year as well.

While this project will be majority-funded by the French government, the Louvre has already raised ticket prices by 45%, allowing them to generate some extra revenue to use for the improvements.

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Image credit to BBC