Planet

Louvre comes to poor French city

LENS, France — The Louvre has embarked on an ambitious quest – opening a (EURO)150 million ($196 million) extension in an abandoned coal mining town in northern France that has an unemployment rate nearly three times the national average. The "Louvre-Lens" project – housed in a futuristic glass and aluminum complex – opens this week in an attempt to silence critics who say French art is limited to the country's Parisian elite.

Proponents say the complex will offer culture to the less cultivated provinces and give residents a unique opportunity to see high-end art.