Media reported hundreds of damaged Egyptology books in the Louvre due to a water leak

In the Louvre, water from a ruptured pipe damaged several hundred books in the Library of Egyptian Antiquities, and about 400 scientific papers dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries were damaged. This was reported on December 7 by the newspaper Le Figaro, citing the deputy General administrator of the museum, Francis Steinbock.

"No historical heritage has been damaged. <...> At this stage, we do not have irreparable and final losses on these collections. <...> These are extremely useful and widely used documents, <...> but not at all unique in the world. <...> They will dry, we will send them to the binder for restoration, and then they will be returned to the shelf," Steinbock said about the incident.

According to the newspaper, a water leak was detected on November 26 at about 20:45 (local time, 18:45 Moscow time) in the hydraulic network that provides heating and ventilation of the library. This was due to an employee mistakenly opening the valve of the system, which caused a leak on the ceiling of one of the library rooms. It is specified that this network was disconnected and was awaiting repair in September 2026. The Louvre is conducting an internal investigation to find out the exact reasons that led to this leak.

Tear off the brooch: The Louvre has begun the largest renovation of the security system in history

Why didn't the museum's management take drastic measures after the audacious robbery in October

On October 19, French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati announced the robbery of the Louvre. According to her, the robbery took only a few minutes and was carried out by professionals. On the same day, the newspaper Le Parisien learned about the discovery of the broken crown of the wife of Emperor Napoleon III, Eugenie, near the site of the robbery. On October 29, Paris Prosecutor Laure Becco announced that two detainees in the Louvre robbery case had partially admitted their guilt. Becco added that the jewelry stolen from the museum has not yet been found.

The Blick newspaper reported that the robbers who stole jewelry from the Louvre in Paris tried to sell part of the stolen to the CGI Group security company via the darknet to Israel. According to the head of the company, Zwick Nave, five days after the robbery, the company was contacted by a man who introduced himself as a representative of the robbers. At the same time, the company's management agreed to enter into negotiations with the alleged criminals in order to establish their identities and the location of the exhibits.

Le Parisien reported on November 25 that a fourth suspect in the massive Louvre robbery was arrested in a Paris suburb. She reported this on November 25. According to the newspaper, the criminals used sophisticated methods of entering the museum, including disabling security systems and overcoming reinforced security systems.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.