No Louvre for Hollande’s Abu Dhabi swan song

He will not be standing in arguably France’s most hotly contested presidential elections of recent times, so President François Hollande can focus on wider issues during his last months in office. One hoped-for visit before he stands down in May was a return to Abu Dhabi – where he attended the early December Safeguarding Endangered Cultural Heritage conference – for the long-awaited opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum on Saadiyat Island, where work started in 2007. But the museum is unlikely to open before end-2017.