Louvre appoints Laurence des Cars as first female president

Art historian aims to attract young people to world's most visited museum and focus on contemporary themes

The Louvre is to have a female president for the first time in its 228-year history.

Emmanuel Macron has appointed the art historian Laurence des Cars as head of the world's most visited museum, founded in 1793. Des Cars, president of the Musee d'Orsay and L'Orangerie in Paris, both of which she has run since 2017, will take over the prestigious post in September.