Downtrodden workers have been ignored in France’s rush to a cultural partnership with the building of the UAE’s new Louvre gallery. Yohann Koshy reports.
This month the Louvre Abu Dhabi will open its doors, allowing visitors to see artworks by Picasso and Da Vinci under a 180-metre steel dome roof designed by superstar architect Jean Nouvel.
But this lucrative exercise in soft power – which confers cultural prestige to the Gulf state, brings France closer to a strategic ally and reaped $525 million just for licensing out the brand name – has been dogged by accusations of labour abuses.
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