Ammon News - The Mona Lisa will be moved to a new exhibition space at the Louvre in Paris as part of a plan to renovate the world's most frequented museum.

Emmanuel Macron stood in front of the masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci as he made the announcement to an audience of dignitaries, with the change to be introduced by 2031 and visitors charged separately to see the painting.

The French president was outlining his New Renaissance project, which will also involve an international competition to design a second entrance to relieve the growing pressure of visitor numbers beneath the famous glass Pyramid.

Tariff changes will also be introduced from next January so non-EU residents - including UK tourists - pay more to visit.

Macron was giving his response to warnings from the Louvre's director Laurence des Cars that the museum was suffering from grave problems of overcrowding and failing infrastructure.

In a letter to the government made public earlier this month, Ms des Cars said the pyramid - which since 1989 has housed the unique access point to the galleries - was "structurally unable to cope" with visitor numbers that now reach more than nine million a year.

She also said that "in the view of everyone, the presentation of the Mona Lisa... is something that needs to be looked at". BBC