PARIS (AP) — After four months of virus-imposed inactivity, the “Mona Lisa” is going back to the grindstone. The world’s most visited museum is counting on the world’s most famous portrait to help lure back visitors. But the task promises to be tough. Before mass tourism came to a screeching halt with the coronavirus pandemic, the Louvre drew up to 50,000 visitors per day. But when it reopens July 6, the museum director expects those numbers to shrivel. For Louvre employees who during lockdown kept the museum’s treasures safe under lock and key, reopening marks the end of their other-worldly experience of having the former royal palace all to themselves.
