A majority of Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s plan to replace the White House’s East Wing with a $300 million ballroom, according to a new poll released Thursday. Fifty-six percent of Americans said they oppose the project, with just 28 percent expressing support for it, per the The Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. The survey found that the renovation enjoys significantly more support among Republicans than Democrats. Sixty-two percent of Republicans support it, while 88 percent of Democrats oppose the ballroom. Independents were more divided, with 17 percent supporting the project and 61 percent disapproving. While Trump initially insisted the project would not interfere with the existing White House structure, the administration has now fully demolished the East Wing of the White House, historically home to the first lady’s office and other reception rooms. Trump has said the new 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which the White House expects to be done well before 2029, will host White House events for nearly 1,000 people. The administration has solicited donations from several dozen high-profile Trump donors, including two Cabinet officials, multiple billionaire investors and some of the biggest tech and crypto companies in Silicon Valley to pay for the renovation. The White House has also promised to share how much money Trump is personally contributing to the project, a figure the administration has yet to release, but did not specify when it would do so. The project has faced sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers. Trump also ousted six commissioners on Tuesday who sat on a panel responsible for advising on planning federal projects and memorials in Washington, including White House renovations. Still, the White House has dismissed criticism of the project, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt maintaining that the ballroom will be “magnificent addition to the White House for many years to come.” “I believe there’s a lot of fake outrage right now because nearly every single president who has lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own,” Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News last week. The Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll was conducted online Oct. 24-28, with a random sample of 2,725 adults. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 1.9 percentage points, with a larger margin for subgroups.

President Donald Trump said he’s restarting U.S. nuclear missile testing on Wednesday hours before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, further escalating the stakes of the high-profile summit between the two leaders. Trump wrote in a social media post he instructed the Pentagon to “immediately” begin testing nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with nuclear testing programs in other nations, specifically noting the nuclear stockpiles of Russia and China. “The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office,” Trump wrote. “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.” “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” he continued. “That process will begin immediately.” When asked during his official greeting with Xi about the decision, Trump paused and replied: “Thank you very much everybody.” The tests would likely be seen by foreign adversaries as a proclamation of U.S. military force. The U.S. has not conducted a nuclear test since 1992. Trump’s statement comes shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Wednesday that Russia successfully tested a nuclear torpedo capable of damaging entire coastal regions. Trump’s statement amplifies the significance of his meeting with Xi in South Korea, already a high-stakes affair as the two nations circle another potential trade dispute that could send shockwaves through the market.

BRUSSELS — Heard the one about the 12-and-half-hour meeting of 27 national leaders that succeeded in agreeing very little apart from coming up with quite a lot of “let’s decide in a couple of months” or “let’s just all agree on language that means absolutely nothing but looks like we’re united” or “let’s at least celebrate that we got through this packed agenda without having to come back on Friday”? No? Well let us enlighten you. And if that makes you question how we’ve managed to squeeze 29 things out of this, well let’s just say one of these is about badly functioning vending machines… 1 . STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX WITH A QUICK WIN ON SANCTIONS … The day was off to a flying start when Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico lifted his veto over the latest raft of Russia sanctions on the eve of the summit — allowing the package to get formally signed off at 8 a.m. before leaders even started talking. Fico rolled over after claiming to achieve what he set out to do: clinch support for Slovakia’s car industry. He found an unusual ally in German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who he met separately to discuss the impact of climate targets on their countries’ automotive sectors. 2. … BUT AGREEMENT ON FROZEN RUSSIAN ASSETS WAS LESS FORTHCOMING There was a moment earlier in the week where the EU looked to be on the cusp of a breakthrough on using Russian frozen assets to fund a €140 billion loan for Ukraine. Belgium, the main holdout, appeared to be warming to the European Commission’s daring idea to crack open the piggy bank. But Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stuck by his guns , saying he feared taking the assets, which are held in a Brussels-based financial depository, could trigger Moscow to take legal action. 3. BELGIUM DIDN’T MOVE ON ITS BIG THREE BIG DEMANDS The Flemish right-winger’s prerequisites were threefold: the “full mutualization of the risk,” guarantees that if the money has to paid back, “every member state will chip in,” and for every other EU country that holds immobilized assets to also seize them. Leaders eventually agreed on that classic EU summit outcome: a fudge. They tasked the European Commission to “present options” at the next European Council — effectively deciding not to decide. “Political will is clear, and the process will move forward,” said one EU official. But it’s uncertain whether a deal can be brokered by the next summit, currently set for December. 4. DE WEVER REJECTS THE ‘BAD BOY’ LABEL After POLITICO ranked the Belgian leader among its list of “bad boys” likely to disrupt Thursday’s summit (rightfully, might we add), he protested the branding. “A bad boy! Me? … If you talk about the immobilized assets, we’re the very, very best,” he said. The day was off to a flying start when Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico lifted his veto over the latest raft of Russia sanctions on the eve of the summit. | Olivier Hoslet/EPA 5. URSULA VON DER LEYEN ALSO CONCEDED THEY’RE NOT QUITE THERE YET The high-level talks “allowed us to identify points we need to clarify,” the Commission president said tactfully. “Nobody vetoed nothing today,” European Council President António Costa chimed in. “The technical and legal aspects of Europe’s support need to be worked upon.” Translation in case you didn’t understand the double negative: The EU needs to come up with a better plan to reassure Belgium — and fast. 6. UKRAINE: EVER THE OPTIMIST Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ― a guest of the summit ― told reporters Russia must pay the price for its invasion, calling on the EU to follow through with its frozen assets proposal, adding he thought the leaders were “close” to an agreement. “If Russia brought war to our land, they have to pay for this war,” he said. 7. AND ZELENSKYY IS STILL HOLDING OUT FOR TOMAHAWKS “We will see,” was Zelenskyy’s message on the topic of acquiring the long-range missiles from the U.S., which Donald Trump has so far ruled out selling to Kyiv. “Each day brings something … maybe tomorrow we will have Tomahawks,” Zelenskyy said. “I don’t know.” 8. UKRAINE WANTS GERMANY TO SEND MORE WEAPONS TOO Merz held a meeting with Zelenskyy about “the situation in Washington and the American plans that are now on the table,” a German official said, adding Zelenskyy made “specific requests” to the chancellor about helping Ukraine with its “defense capabilities.” After the summit, the German leader said Berlin would review a proposal on how German technologies could help to protect Ukrainian’s energy and water infrastructure. 9. THUMBS UP TO DEFENSE ROADMAP! EU leaders endorsed the Defense Readiness Roadmap 2030 presented last week by the Commission, which aims to prepare member countries for war by 2030. One of its main objectives is to fill EU capability gaps in nine areas: air and missile defense, enablers, military mobility, artillery systems, AI and cyber, missile and ammunition, drones and anti-drones, ground combat, and maritime. The plan also mentions areas like defense readiness and the role of Ukraine, which would be heavily armed and supported to become a “steel porcupine” able to deter Russian aggression. As leaders deliberated, a Russian fighter jet and a refueling aircraft briefly crossed into Lithuanian airspace from the Kaliningrad region, underscoring the need for the EU to protect its skies. 10. KYIV IS PROMISING TO BUY EUROPEAN — MOSTLY Ukraine will prioritize domestic and European industry when spending cash from the proposed reparation loan funded by Russia’s frozen assets, Zelenskyy told leaders at the summit — but wants to be able to go across the pond when necessary. 11. MUCH THE SAME FOR SPAIN Spanish leader Pedro Sánchez said the country had committed to contributing cash to a fund organized by NATO to buy weapons for Ukraine from the U.S. | Nicolas Tucat/Getty Images Spanish leader Pedro Sánchez said the country had committed to contributing cash to a fund organized by NATO to buy weapons for Ukraine from the U.S. “Today, most of the air defense components, such as Patriots or Tomahawks … which Ukraine clearly needs, are only manufactured in the United States,” he said. Madrid has been a thorn in Washington’s side over its lax defense spending. 12. THERE WAS A MERCOSUR SURPRISE Merz stunned trade watchers when he announced the leaders had backed a controversial trade agreement with Latin American countries. “We voted on it today: The Mercosur agreement can be ratified,” the German chancellor told reporters, adding that he was “very happy” about that. “All 27 countries voted unanimously in favor,” Merz added on Mercosur. “It’s done.” The remark sparked confusion amongst delegations, as the European Council doesn’t usually vote on trade agreements — let alone one as controversial as the mammoth agreement with the countries of the Latin American bloc of Mercosur, which has been in negotiations for over 25 years. One EU diplomat clarified that it’s because European Council President António Costa sought confirmation from EU leaders that they would agree to take a stance on the deal by the end of this year — and no formal vote was taken yet. 13. CLIMATE TALKS PASSED WITHOUT A HITCH One of the hotter potatoes ahead of the summit passed surprisingly smoothly. Leaders ultimately refrained from bulldozing the EU’s climate targets, agreeing to a vaguely worded commitment to a green transition, though without committing to a 2040 goal, which proposes cutting emissions by 90 percent compared to 1990 levels. In the words of one diplomat: “Classic balance, everyone equally unhappy.” 14. AT LEAST ONE LEADER SEEMED PLEASED, THOUGH Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the summit a “turning point” in Europe’s approach to green policy, adding he succeeded in inserting a “revision clause” into the EU’s plan to extend its carbon-trading system to heating and transport emissions that will give member countries the option to delay or adjust the rollout. “We’ve defused a threat to Polish families and drivers,” he declared, calling the change a signal that “Europe is finally speaking our language.” 15. BUT THE ISSUE WON’T STAY BURIED FOR LONG Ministers are set to reconvene and cast a vote on the 2040 goal on Nov. 4, described by one diplomat as “groundhog day.” 16. MEANWHILE, THERE WAS NOTHING ON MIGRATION … Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the summit a “turning point” in Europe’s approach to green policy. | Thierry Monasse/Getty Images Aside from promising to make migration a “priority,” the EU’s leaders failed to make any kind of breakthrough on a stalled proposal for burden-sharing. Reminder: The EU missed a deadline last week to agree on a new way of deciding which member countries are under stress from receiving migrants and ways of sharing the responsibility more equally across the bloc. 17. … BUT THE ANTI-MIGRANT BREAKFAST CLUB LIVES ON Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and the Netherlands’ Dick Schoof have kept up their informal pre-summit “migration breakfasts” since last June, swapping innovative ideas on tougher border and asylum policies. They met again on Thursday with von der Leyen, who updated them on the EU’s latest plans for accelerating migrant returns, and the trio agreed an informal summit will take place next month in Rome. 18. NOR DID THE EU’S SOCIAL MEDIA BAN GET MUCH OF A LOOK IN As expected, the leaders endorsed a “possible” minimum age for kids to use social media, but failed to commit to a bloc-wide ban, with capitals divided on whether to make the age 15 or 16, as well as on the issue of parental consent. 19. THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT OF WAITING FOR NEWS… Journalists were frantically pressing their sources in the Council and national delegations to find out what was happening at the leaders’ table as the meeting dragged into the late hours. It eventually finished at 10.30 p.m. ― 12 and a half hours after it began. 20. … AND THE GREENS SEIZED THEIR MOMENT The EU Parliament’s Greens group co-chair Bas Eickhout wandered the hallways of the Justus Lipsius building ready to brief bored journalists about the wonders of the Green Deal — while leaders debated how to unravel it in the other room. 21. THE COMBUSTION ENGINE BAN FELL FLAT One of the pillars of the EU’s green transition, its 2035 de facto combustion engine ban, was set to play a major role in the competitiveness and climate discussions, with Merz and Fico spoiling for a fight over the proposal — yet it barely registered as a footnote. Slovakia used the climate talks to oppose the ban, and the Czech Republic chimed in to agree, but in the end the summit’s official conclusions welcomed the Commission’s proposed ban without mentioning how it should be watered down. 22. THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL’S VENDING MACHINES AREN’T VERY, ER, COMPETITIVE Officials and journalists alike found that the vending machines in the EU’s Justus Lipsius building, which incidentally is due for a €1 billion renovation, about as efficient as a roundtable of 27 national leaders lasting 12 and a half hours. 23. THE BLOC IS WORRIED ABOUT CHINA… Beijing’s export controls on rare earths came up in the talks on competitiveness, according to two EU officials, with some leaders expressing their concerns. 24. … BUT THEY’RE NOT READY TO GO NUCLEAR — YET One of the officials said the EU’s most powerful trade weapon, the Anti-Coercion Instrument, was mentioned, but didn’t garner much interest around the table. 25. HOUSING GETS 40 MINUTES — NOT BAD FOR A FIRST RUN Leaders spent a chunk of time discussing the continent’s housing crisis. A solid start for the topic, which made it onto the agenda for the first time at Costa’s behest. The EU executive “is ready to help,” von der Leyen said after the summit, announcing a European Affordable Housing Plan is in the pipeline and the first EU Housing Summit in 2026. | Dursun Aydemir/Getty Images During talks, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on the Commission to create a database tracking which housing policies work — and which don’t — across Europe. Most leaders agreed that, while housing remains a national competence, the EU still has a role to play. 26. AND THE COMMISSION WANTS TO ROLL UP ITS SLEEVES The EU executive “is ready to help,” von der Leyen said after the summit, announcing a European Affordable Housing Plan is in the pipeline and the first EU Housing Summit in 2026. 27. LEADERS ENJOYED A FEAST OR TWO For lunch, langoustine with yuzu, celeriac and apple, fillet of veal with artichokes and crispy polenta, and a selection of fresh fruit. For dinner, cannelloni with herbs, courgette velouté, fillet of brill with chorizo and pepper, and fig meringue cake. Yum. 28. THOUGH A FEW COULDN’T MAKE IT Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was the most notable absence, rocking up several hours late due to a national holiday in Budapest. Portugal and Slovenia’s leaders were also absent at one point. 29. AND COSTA KEPT HIS PROMISE … JUST The European Council president pledged to streamline summits under his watch, making them one-day affairs instead of two. And with just a couple hours to spare, he was successful. Okay, breathe. Did we miss anything? (Don’t answer that.) Gerardo Fortuna, Max Griera Andrieu, Jordyn Dahl, Gabriel Gavin, Hanne Cokelaere, Clea Caulcutt, Hans von der Burchard, Kathryn Carlson, Tim Ross, Jacopo Barigazzi, Gregorio Sorgi, Eliza Gkritsi, Carlo Martuscelli, Nicholas Vinocur, Saga Ringmar, Sarah Wheaton, Louise Guillot, Zia Weise, Camille Gijs, Bartosz Brzezinski and Giedre Peseckyte contributed to this report.

PARIS — The blame game and finger pointing following Sunday’s heist at the Louvre Museum kicked off almost as quickly as the seven-minute robbery itself.   France’s far right was quick to assign fault to President Emmanuel Macron and his allies for the brazen, broad-daylight theft of the French crown jewels, accusing them of being soft on crime and failing to sufficiently protect the nation’s heritage.  MEP Marion Maréchal proposed eliminating the €200 cultural vouchers offered to French high school students, a measure put in place under Macron, and redirecting those funds toward protecting France’s “national treasures.” She later called France the “laughingstock of the world” and called on Culture Minister Rachida Dati — who has acknowledged “failures” in securing the world’s most visited museum in several interviews — to demand the resignations of the museum’s director and head of security. “The responsibility lies with 40 years of abandonment during which problems were swept under the rug … We always focused on the security of cultural institutions for visitors, much less for that of the artworks,” Dati told broadcaster M6 on Monday. Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a high-ranking official with the country’s biggest far-right party, the National Rally, accused the French “political and media system’s … soft-on-crime ideology” of being “responsible” for the heist.   In a series of angry social media posts, he claimed that “French museums, like our historic buildings and churches, are DELIBERATELY not secured to the same standard as the treasures they contain.” National Rally President Jordan Bardella called the incident a “humiliation” before asking: “How far will the breakdown of the state go?” Meanwhile, conservative lawmaker Alexandre Portier announced plans to propose a parliamentary inquiry into the protection of French heritage and museum security, as first reported by POLITICO.  Security concerns have long been a point of contention within the museum. Trade unions have repeatedly sounded the alarm over what they describe as poor working conditions and understaffing among security personnel — who have gone on strike several times, most recently in June, amid growing visitor numbers driven by mass tourism. In a bid to modernize the museum’s aging infrastructure, Macron in January announced an ambitious renovation project featuring a new entrance and a dedicated room for the Mona Lisa. The plan — dubbed Louvre — Nouvelle Renaissance — also includes security upgrades such as next-generation surveillance cameras, enhanced perimeter detection and a new central security control room, according to the culture ministry.  As of Monday, the perpetrators remain at large — and the Louvre was closed to the public for a second consecutive day. 

The European Parliament is getting hot and sweaty, and it’s not because of the upcoming EU budget negotiations. The air-conditioning system in Zone C of the Paul-Henri Spaak building in Brussels, home to staff from the Greens, the liberals of Renew Europe, and the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists, has malfunctioned. The affected parties appear to be taking it in good humor, at least. “It hasn’t been this overheated since [European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen cut the green claims stuff!” quipped a Renew spokesperson, referring to last week’s political turmoil over the Commission’s mixed messaging on whether it would kill an anti-greenwashing bill.  “I hear it’s better on the 5th floor, where they don’t believe in climate change,” the spokesperson added, referring to the offices of the ECR, a group that wants to water down the EU’s climate policies. Not to be outdone, an ECR spokesperson said: “I know they want to make us sweat over our political positions, but isn’t this ridiculous?” The Spaak building is set for a €440 million renovation starting in 2027, which will take about five years. It is meant to bring the infrastructure up to modern safety and green standards after the partial collapse of the plenary chamber ceiling, according to the Parliament’s administration. On Tuesday night the system experienced “a major malfunction” due to “exceptionally high temperatures,” an internal communication from the Parliament’s infrastructure department reads. “Our teams were unable to restore the system during the night and repair works are continuing this morning as a matter of absolute priority,” the note adds. 

BRUSSELS — All but one EU government missed a Monday deadline for plans to make the green transition affordable, threatening to delay the disbursement of funds meant to protect the poorest Europeans. Only Sweden sent in the so-called social climate plan on time, the European Commission confirmed on Tuesday. The remaining 26 countries are still working on their plans — despite most of them fretting about the impact of green policies on vulnerable households. The plans are required because the EU is preparing to put a price on planet-warming emissions from heating and road transport from 2027, which is expected to increase households’ fuel bills. The idea is that the cost will incentivize Europeans to switch to fossil-free alternatives like electric vehicles and heat pumps. To avoid penalizing low-income Europeans — many of whom already struggle paying their energy bills and can’t afford high-priced EVs — as well as small businesses, the EU set up the €86.7 billion Social Climate Fund, which is meant to fund measures to help poor households starting next year. To access these funds, each EU country has to submit a plan detailing how it will spend its share of the cash. A majority of EU countries recently demanded tweaks to the incoming carbon price over cost fears. But with nearly every country blowing the June 30 deadline, disbursement of the relief funds now faces holdups. “There are no legal consequences for not submitting the plans,” said Commission spokesperson Eva Hrnčířová, but warned that it may delay access to the cash. The Commission must wait for all 27 social climate plans before it can set up the fund, Hrnčířová explained. Only after that will EU governments be able to access the fund’s public money. Hrnčířová added that the EU executive will have five months to assess countries’ plans, but couldn’t specify when that timeline would start. The cash pot is meant to finance initiatives like renewable energy, home renovation, clean heating and cooling and low-emission cars. “We wanted to have the fund up from the beginning of next year,” Hrnčířová said, but “if we don’t have [the plans] soon, then obviously the work on this project needs to be postponed.” “We hope that the member states will now swiftly prepare their plans,” she added. This article has been updated with additional information from the European Commission regarding the Social Climate Fund.

PARIS — Marine Le Pen doesn’t want the French to sweat, whether it’s over the rise of the far right or the mercury climbing up their thermometers. “It is high time that France rolled out a major air-conditioning equipment plan,” the French far-right leader said Monday, as France and the rest of Europe suffer through a major heat wave. The dangerously warm temperatures, forecast to hit 36 degrees Celsius in Paris and as high as 40C in some places, have prompted the government to place an unprecedented 84 departments under heat wave warnings. In a post on X, Le Pen struck while the iron — and everything else — was hot, turning the lack of air conditioning into a political issue. She accused the government of forcing ordinary people to suffer the heat while the “so-called French elites” benefit from air conditioning. “It’s crazy to tell families to stop working from one day to the next because schools can’t take our kids anymore, while telling them to go to the local movie theater, which is air-conditioned,” she said on X. Frédéric Falcon, a lawmaker from Le Pen’s National Rally, said that his party’s goal was to install air conditioners “as widely as possible, in administrations, schools, retirement homes and private homes.” “We are way behind Southern Europe, including the South of France,” he said. Europe has less air conditioning coverage than countries like the United States and Japan, but climate change has made it the fastest-warming continent on the planet. The French have not traditionally being big fans of air conditioning, but the number of French households installing cooling systems is growing. The French government has worked hard to reduce nationwide electricity consumption since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis, and invest more in nuclear power. In terms of air conditioning, French authorities have supported supplying strategic buildings and public transport with cooling systems, but are prioritizing other ways of keeping temperatures down that do not emit greenhouse gasses, such as planting more trees, better insulating buildings and developing more innovative options such as the geothermal cooling system supplied to the Olympic Village.

Enjoy all the coffee from the European Parliament’s Mickey Mouse bar while you can. The Paul-Henri Spaak building in the Parliament, which hosts the hemicycle and the (in)famous Mickey Mouse bar — a favorite scheming spot for lawmakers, lobbyists and journalists — will close for €440 million renovation, according to the 2026 draft budget seen by POLITICO. The five-year refurbishment is set to begin in 2027. It is meant to bring the infrastructure up to modern safety and green standards after the partial collapse of the plenary chamber ceiling, according to the Parliament’s administration. The building hosts the offices of Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the secretary-general, and groups’ staff offices such as the European Conservatives and Reformists, Renew Europe, and the Greens, as well as the press center. While a lucky few will be moved to the adjacent Altiero Spinelli building, some others will be jettisoned to a “buffer building” near the Parliament. Some lawmakers floated the idea of keeping the hemicycle, where the Parliament hosts some plenary sessions, open during that time but that would have cost at least €20 million more. Others have suggested holding sessions in Strasbourg’s fancy plenary room. In the end, the Belgians, who feared the French would take over all the sessions in Strasbourg, fought tooth and nail to keep them in Brussels. And in true Belgian bureaucratic fashion, the administration will divide lawmakers into two groups, making them sit in different rooms and stay connected via videoconference, according to an internal note circulated by the secretary-general. The problem with that, however, is that some lawmakers will be in the main room with Metsola while others will be relegated to a second-tier venue. Plus, holding votes while MEPs are split up will be complicated since they often vote via a show of hands.

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled plans to build a new entrance to the Louvre and move the “Mona Lisa” to its own room as part of an ambitious renovation project at the world’s most-visited museum. Macron’s announcement, which he made standing beside Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, comes as his government is looking to bring down public spending and as the Louvre itself faces challenges updating some of its increasingly dilapidated infrastructure. The proposal, Macron said, would see the Mona Lisa moved to an “independently accessible” part of the museum where visitors would be charged separately. “At a time when immediacy and forceful rhetoric seem to have hypnotic power … talking about long-term issues, culture and art is one of the messages that France can deliver to the world,” said Macron, who celebrated his first presidential victory in front of the Louvre Pyramid. Macron did not put a price tag on what he called the “new Louvre Renaissance.” He said it would be paid for by the museum’s own resources and private donors, not taxpayer money. However, most donations are tax deductible, and the French government needs all the revenue it can get if it hopes to start closing its widening budget deficit. Prime Minister François Bayrou’s government has already proposed €53 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts, and the government has already warned that it would not sign off on big investments for the Louvre. Still, the Ministry of Culture will spend €10 million to explore the project’s development — a figure which has been priced in to the current budgetary discussions, Macron said. The French president also signed off on an idea put forward by Culture Minister Rachida Dati to increase ticket prices for non-European visitors — a proposal she also put forward for Notre Dame Cathedral, which reopened last month to much fanfare. But many who work in or with the museum say money should be spent on much-needed refurbishments before embarking on any new construction. A leaked note published by daily newspaper Le Parisien on Wednesday detailed the museum’s dire state, listing several defects such as extreme temperatures and water-tightness issues that threaten the well-being of the artworks on display. The situation isn’t new. An internal Louvre report from July 2023 seen by POLITICO said that €60 million worth refurbishments were urgently needed to address everything from the “dilapidated state of HVAC” to “repeated breakdowns … on escalators and elevators.” Valérie Baud, a member of the Louvre’s board and representative for the museum’s largest union, the CFDT, stressed that “the renovation needs were known by those concerned, by the staff’s representatives, by the ministry,” and insisted that funding should mostly be directed toward improving conditions for workers and visitors alike rather than new projects. Macron acknowledged the challenges the Louvre faces with its decaying environs, but said that given the increased attendance — the museum welcomes about 9 million visitors a year — the new entrance should be a priority. When asked about the need for improvements before Macron’s Tuesday announcement, the Louvre declined to comment. The French Ministry of Culture did not respond to a request for comment.