T
he forced departure of Laurence des Cars from the head of the Louvre Museum on Tuesday, February 24, puts an end to the enumeration of adjectives that have been used to define her since October's infamous Louvre heist. She was described as arrogant, contemptuous, haughty, divisive, autocratic, out of touch, isolated, disdainful, clannish and harsh. She was also said to be incapable of saying hello, looking people in the eye, listening to staff, hiding behind PowerPoint presentations to avoid questions during meetings, more likely to turn on her heels than to start a conversation and smiling as frequently as a funny day in Scotland.
All of this has a familiar ring. About 12 years ago, I published an article with an unequivocal title: "Museum directors have gone mad." No question mark. I highlighted that the heads of the Louvre (Jean-Luc Martinez, des Cars' predecessor), the Centre Pompidou (Alain Seban), the Musée Picasso (Anne Baldassari) and the Musée d'Orsay (Guy Cogeval) – in other words, the crème de la crème – were all accused of authoritarianism.
Unions and numerous testimonies highlighted verbal abuse, mistreatment, public humiliation, employees being dismissed and a desire to control everything. One museum director asked their secretary to walk their dog, another told their driver to fetch their gym bag, while a third humiliated anyone who dared to sit in the wrong place at the meeting table: at the king's seat.
