Once the idealistic creation of intellectuals, Unesco is now dominated by diplomats and hamstrung by budget collapse, the debasement of its gold-standard heritage lists by narrow economic and nationalist interests, and a huge and rigid governance structure

After a troubled renovation, Paris museum unveils rehang and new exhibition programme with a contemporary twist

Yves Bouvier, whose bail set at €27m, denies wrongdoing

Bank gets €28m from sale of Paris mansion

A row over the appointment of a new head for the Ecole des Beaux-Arts is just the latest in a string of scandals over plum arts jobs

Architects founded by Richard Rogers picked for long-planned project to move collections from Paris to site near Louvre-Lens

Year-long delay confirmed by museum’s president in Paris this week

How the new contemporary art spaces in Paris and Milan measure up

In addition to two portraits of Jacqueline Picasso, more than 60 other works are believed to have gone missing from a storage facility in Paris suburb

Olivier Thomas is released from police custody, while Yves Bouvier denies all allegations

Statue of the Hindu monkey-god was looted ‘in all likelihood’

Concerns raised after François Pinault returns looted artefacts as diplomatic gesture

Jean-Luc Martinez says attacks on cultural heritage marks "turning point" for universal museums

Thinning the painting’s varnish reveals La Belle Ferronnière's fine features, but French experts unable to confirm her identity

The Metropolitan Museum may not be the last institution to return looted sculptures