Review

How the Louvre Made France

For centuries, French leaders have used the iconic museum to cement their place in the world. Macron is no different. August 15, 2025, 2:00 PM Comment icon View Comments ( )

The gridded glass of a pyramid is seen above with a crowd of people in a large museum space.

Few museums embody a country’s history, values, and role in the world as much as the Louvre does for France. After a long stint as a royal palace that housed monarchs’ private art collections, the Louvre opened its gates to the people during the French Revolution. Since then, the museum has played a crucial part in France’s global ambitions of grandeur. Leaders from Napoleon Bonaparte to President Emmanuel Macron have relied on it to bolster the country’s soft power abroad.

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