Concerns have been raised about the safety of works loaned to the Louvre Abu Dhabi with one prominent French commentator calling for their return to Europe.
Didier Selles, who as general administrator of the Louvre in Paris, helped negotiate the cultural deal between the governments of France and Abu Dhabi, said the works need to be "removed" from the area.
The museum, which opened in 2017, has remained open and so far has not been damaged during the conflict which has spread across the region in recent weeks and seen hundreds of Iranian drone attacks aimed at the Gulf states.
France's Ministry of Culture said it is in “close and regular” contact with the Emirati authorities to ensure the protection of works on loan, but one of the problems is the lack of public knowledge about exactly what is in the museum.
According to reports in France, the Louvre sends about 100 works each year with 250 more coming from other museums and under the terms of the deal between the two countries France can demand their immediate repatriation if security conditions are deemed inadequate.
Two people were killed in Abu Dhabi today after debris fell from a missile intercepted by its air defence systems.