Americans Will Soon Pay More to Visit the Louvre

Paris' Louvre museum has approved a ticket hike from 22 to 32 euros ($25 to $37) for non-EU visitors beginning in January to help finance an overhaul of the building whose degradation was exposed by the Oct. 19 crown jewels heist. The measure was announced by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year as part of a decade-long plan of renovation and expansion of the museum and approved Thursday by the Louvre governing board; the AP reports security breaches that allowed the $102 million theft highlighted the urgency of the situation.

From Jan. 14, nationals from outside the European Union will have to pay 10 euros more. Nationals from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, countries that signed up to the European Economic Area agreement, will be exempted from the hike. In 2024, the Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors, 77% of them foreigners. Top nationalities include people from the US (13%), China (6%), and Britain (5%) who are affected by the price hikes.

Earlier this month, Louvre director Laurence des Cars announced more than 20 emergency measures have started being implemented following the robbery. She said the Louvre's latest overhaul in the 1980s is now technically obsolete. The cost for the so-called "Louvre New Renaissance" plan is estimated at up to $933 million to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the famed Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031.

Meanwhile, the AP separately reports a 39-year-old man arrested by French police earlier this week is thought to be the fourth member of the team that stole France's crown jewels on Oct. 19, the Paris prosecutor said Friday, meaning that the entire gang is now believed to be in custody. The prosecutor's statement didn't say what role, exactly, the man is thought to have played in the daylight heist, which was believed to have been the work of a four-person team—with two people breaking into the museum's Apollo Gallery where the jewels were displayed and then being whisked away on motorbikes by two associates who waited outside. The haul hasn't been recovered.