Overview
- A Nov. 26 leak in the Mollien wing flooded the Egyptian antiquities reading room, with between 300 and 400 Egyptology journals and research documents damaged.
- Officials say no collection objects were harmed and report no irreparable or permanent losses to the affected scholarly volumes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- The museum plans controlled drying followed by rebinding so the materials can be returned to the shelves for researchers.
- The leak was traced to the hydraulic network for heating and ventilation after an accidental valve operation, with an internal inquiry under way as unions and documents highlight prior defect warnings.
- Employee unions have called a renewable strike from Dec. 15 over deteriorating conditions, citing recurring technical failures and recent preventive closures such as the shutdown of the Galerie Campana.