France's Louvre Museum Gets Its First Woman Boss In History

Laurence des Cars currently runs the Musee d'Orsay, the Paris landmark museum dedicated to 19th-century art, where she is already the first-ever woman boss.

France on Wednesday appointed Laurence des Cars, known for promoting social issues through art, as the new head of the Louvre -- the first time a woman will be in charge of the world's biggest museum more than two centuries after it first opened. Des Cars currently runs the Musee d'Orsay, the Paris landmark museum dedicated to 19th-century art, where she is already the first-ever woman boss. Her legacy there includes boosting young visitor numbers and giving art and visitors more physical space. During her four years at the Orsay, the 54-year old art historian has taken a stance on some controversial topics, including by coming out in favour of restituting works looted by Nazis.