Overview
- The museum confirmed 300 to 400 items were soaked in late November, describing them as widely used egyptology journals and scientific documentation from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with no exhibition objects affected and no definitive irreparable losses reported so far.
- Officials attributed the incident to an accidentally opened valve in a long-obsolete hydraulic network tied to heating and ventilation that has been out of service, with replacement scheduled to begin in September 2026 and an internal inquiry underway.
- A specialist outlet published photos and an internal CHSCT message describing a significant flow of dirty water and unusable offices, and reported that some volumes may be irrecoverable and that staff had long sought funding to protect the stacks.
- Unions CGT, CFDT and Sud voted unanimously to launch a prorogable strike from December 15 to demand urgent building repairs, more staffing and stronger security, a move that could disrupt visitor access.
- The water damage intensifies scrutiny following the October 19 jewel theft in the Galerie Apollon, where suspects have been arrested but the pieces have not been recovered, with Senate administrative findings on that robbery expected this week.