The China Mail - Water leak and ticket fraud charges add to Louvre woes

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 euros ($11.9 million), legal sources said.

Investigators believe guides working with Chinese tourists re-used tickets to enter several times, bribing security staff to get their compliance.

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.

The leak adds to a growing collection of structural and maintenance problems at the world's most visited museum, which suffered an embarrassing robbery last October.

A water leak in November damaged several hundred works in the Louvre's Egyptian department. And a gallery housing ancient Greek ceramics was closed in October because ceiling beams threatened to give way.

The Louvre's chief architect Francois Chatillon conceded to lawmakers in November that the building was "not in a good state".

- Fraud scandal -

The blow came came just a day after revelations that police had dismantled a ticket fraud network that allegedly includes two museum employees and several tour guides.

Nine people were charged Friday after being formally accused of offences ranging from fraud, to helping a foreign national enter the country to take part in gang activity, to corruption and money laundering, the legal sources said.

Police have seized around a million euros in cash and 486,000 euros from different bank accounts linked to the gang.

The accumulation of problems has piled pressure on museum boss Laurence des Cars, who faced calls to resign after the October 19 robbery, in which thieves stole crown jewels worth more than $100 million.

Two intruders used a truck-mounted extendable platform to access a gallery containing the jewels, slicing through a glass door with disk-cutters in front of startled visitors before grabbing eight items.

Disgruntled staff have also launched a wave of strikes since the start of the year demanding more recruitment and improved salaries, forcing management to shutter the former royal palace on several Mondays.

The Louvre welcomed nine million visitors last year.

W.Tam--ThChM