"After a break-in and strikes, a ticket fraud scandal and a water leak on Friday brought new troubles to France's Louvre museum. The fire brigade had to be called overnight after a pipe burst in the Denon wing, which houses the Mona Lisa painting and other priceless exhibits, according to a statement. French prosecutors meanwhile on Friday charged nine people over ticket fraud that may have cost the museum €10 million ($11.9 million), legal sources said."
"While the space containing Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece was not affected by the leak, it damaged a room of 15th-century Italian works and its decorative ceiling, painted by French artist Charles Meynier. "The ceiling artwork shows two tears in the same area, caused by water, and lifting of the paint layer on the ceiling and its arches," a Louvre statement said. A heating-system pipe above the room caused the damage, the statement added. Firefighters intervened shortly after midnight."
A burst heating-system pipe in the Louvre's Denon wing forced firefighters to intervene and damaged a room of 15th-century Italian works and its decorative ceiling by Charles Meynier. The Mona Lisa gallery was not affected. French prosecutors charged nine people over an alleged ticket fraud scheme that may have cost the museum about €10 million, with investigators saying guides reused tickets for Chinese tourists and bribed security staff. The leak adds to prior maintenance and structural issues, including a November water leak that damaged Egyptian works and an October gallery closure over unstable ceiling beams.
Read at The Local France
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