Christophe Leribault, the former director of the Palace of Versailles, has been appointed the new president of the Louvre Museum, the French Culture Ministry announced Wednesday, February 25, 2026. The appointment follows the resignation of Laurence des Cars on Tuesday amid ongoing scrutiny over a significant jewelry heist and subsequent security concerns at the world’s most visited museum.
Leribault’s “priority will be to strengthen the safety and security of the building, the collections, and people, to restore a climate of trust, and to carry forward, together with all the teams, the necessary transformations for the museum,” according to a statement released by the Culture Ministry.
The move by President Emmanuel Macron comes after an estimated €88 million in jewelry was stolen from the Louvre in October, exposing critical vulnerabilities in the museum’s security protocols. The stolen jewels remain missing. The incident prompted calls for des Cars’s removal and increased attention on Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who is currently campaigning for the position of mayor of Paris.
Leribault, 62, is an art historian specializing in 18th-century art. Prior to his role at Versailles, which he assumed in 2024, he led the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie, both in Paris. He previously served as deputy director of the Louvre’s department of graphic arts from 2006 to 2012, according to the Culture Ministry.
Des Cars, in an interview with Le Figaro, stated she resigned to allow modernization plans for the Louvre to proceed without further distraction. The Culture Ministry acknowledged her departure Tuesday evening, noting the heist had “destabilized an institution at the heart of our country’s cultural and heritage influence.”
Leribault was similarly a candidate for the Louvre presidency in 2021, according to Le Monde. His appointment marks a return to the museum where he previously held a curatorial position. He began his career at the Musée Carnavalet in 1990, and spent a year as a resident at the Villa Médicis in Rome between 1995, and 1996.
The Culture Ministry has not yet announced a timeline for Leribault’s transition from Versailles to the Louvre.
