Art Capital - The Louvre and Musée d'Orsay in Paris Emergency Closure
The Louvre Museum in Paris closes urgently to prevent flooding.
Text and photos by Chen Chi-Hsiang. Recently, many provinces in France have become waterlogged due to floods; even the Château de Chambord has turned into a miraculous Saint-Michel. The same situation affects the Seine River area in the capital city, Paris. The riverbed is overflowing beyond the flood warning line, and levels are expected to continue rising, potentially breaking the 6-meter record set in 1982.
Located along the Seine, two major Parisian museums, the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, have urgently closed to prevent flood damage as the river exceeds warning levels. Since World War II, this marks the first time they mobilized overnight to relocate artworks and evacuate collections from basement areas. The duration of the closure remains unknown.
This flood disaster has not only forced these two museums to close but also submerged a significant section of the RER C line heading to Versailles. Pilgrims hoping to see the Sun King will be disappointed. During this period, visitors to Paris can only pray at Notre-Dame Cathedral for the city. With weather forecasts predicting continuous rain, the Seine’s water level will keep rising. It has already exceeded 6 meters, setting a new century record for flooding. Compounded by strikes, it is hard to imagine the situation in Paris. We shall see.
June 3, 2016