Hundreds of works in the Louvre damaged by flooding

Hundreds of works were damaged at the Louvre in Paris due to a burst pipe that was triggered by flooding, the museum’s deputy general administrator said.

The flooding last week damaged at least 300 to 400 works inside one of the Egyptian antiquities libraries inside the museum, Francis Steinbock, the deputy general administrator, told French broadcast station BFM TV.

The flooding led to a burst pipe, and impacted one of the three rooms of the library in the Egyptian antiquities department, he said.

A complete count of impacted works is currently underway, he said.

Steinbock described some of the works as books — some several hundred years old and dating back to the late 19th century. He said some of the books were wet and work is underway to dry them, including dehumidifying them page by page with the help of Buffard paper and modifying plants.

Some of the works are visual periodicals and archaeology journals that are consulted by Egyptologists, Louvre staff and researchers, he said.

He noted that the area of the pipe break is part of museum spaces that will undergo a major renovation of the ventilation and heating system starting in September 2026.

It’s the latest setback to plague the most visited museum in the world, which was the site of a daring jewelry heist nearly two months ago.

On Oct. 19, four thieves swept through the Louvre in less than eight minutes and stole eight of France’s Crown Jewels, valued at an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million).

The work to track down those stolen jewels is still underway, according to Paris’ prosecutor.

Four men believed to be part of the robbery team have been arrested, including one man last month. All have been handed preliminary charges of robbery by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy.

At the time of the three other arrests in October, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said DNA traces were found at the scene or on items linked to the robbery.

A woman was also arrested in October on a preliminary charges of complicity in theft and criminal conspiracy. She has denied any involvement, the Associated Press reported.