PARIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday accepted the resignation of the head of Paris' Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel
Macron Approves Louvre Chief's Resignation After Jewel Heist
PARIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation on Tuesday of the head of Paris' Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel heist and rolling strikes.
Resignation of Louvre Museum Chief
Laurence des Cars tendered her resignation, which Macron accepted, "praising an act of responsibility at a time when the world's largest museum needs calm and a strong new impetus to successfully carry out major projects involving security and modernization", his office said.
Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102 million that are still missing, exposing glaring security gaps at the world's most-visited museum.
Criticism Following Jewel Theft
Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures and added to a list of woes that included two water leaks as well as a massive ticket fraud investigation.
Strikes and Operational Challenges
Critics including the state auditors' office have questioned the museum's low spending on security and infrastructure maintenance while it made lavish purchases of new artwork, only a quarter of which is open to the public, and spent heavily on post-pandemic relaunch projects.
Security and Maintenance Concerns
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Michel Rose; Editing by Alex Richardson)
