Britons could soon be slapped with an extra levy to see some of France‘s greatest tourist attractions.
The French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati has unveiled plans to introduce an additional entrance fee of 5 euros (£4.22) for non-EU citizens visiting flagship cultural sites, including the Palace of Versailles, the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre.
The Louvre, in Paris, was the most visited museum worldwide last year, reporting almost 8.9 million visits.
The iconic building, within the Louvre Palace, is home to priceless artworks like The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the Venus de Milo.
Dati plans to introduce the surcharge at the Louvre in 2026, according to reports. Individual tickets for the museum already cost €22 (£18.55), as per the museum’s website.
Speaking to French news outlet Le Figuero, Ms Dati asked: “Is it normal for a French visitor to pay the same price for entry to the Louvre as a Brazilian or Chinese visitor?
“The French people should not have to pay for everything on their own,” she added.
Dati said the additional charge, which remains under evaluation, would be intended to cover the high costs of maintaining and renovating these sites, which require considerable investment each year to preserve them, Infobae reports.
She said the move would also aim to offset what she characterised as an inequality in the financial burden of conservation, with most of the costs being shouldered by local taxpayers and public funds.
Staff at the Louvre have voiced concerns about the proposed surcharge, according to French media reports, fearing they’ll have to “police” whether or not people are EU citizens, as per The Standard.
Plans to also charge tourists an entry fee for Notre Dame Cathedral have also been controversial, due to its holy status and the fact that it had been free before it had to go under major renovation following a fire in 2019.
The mayor of Paris Centre where the cathedral is located, Ariel Weil, told French broadcaster BFM TV that the proposed move was “morally shocking”, adding “there’s no question of making the faithful pay”.
However, other famous cathedrals already have entry charges, including a great number in Britain.
In January, The Telegraph reported that one in four cathedrals in the UK had an entry fee. These include St Paul’s in London, where admission costs £25.