Louvre Pyramid of an Egyptian death symbol in the middle of Paris. Meanwhile, political critics referred to the structure as "Pharaoh Francois' Pyramid". Many still continue to feel the harsh modernism of the edifice is out of place. During the design phase, there was a proposal that the design include a spire on the pyramid to simplify window washing. Pei objected, however, and this proposal was eliminated. It has been claimed by some that the glass panes in the Louvre Pyramid number exactly 666, "the number of the beast", often associated with Satan. Dominique Stezepfandt's book "François Mitterrand, Grand Architecte de l'Univers"
ISIL-related terror attacks in France soldiers guarding a principal entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, attacking and injuring one soldier with a machete. The soldiers were patrolling the Museum as part of Opération Sentinelle, guarding the Carrousel du Louvre. Immediately after his arrest, the suspect told authorities that he was carrying spray paint in order to deface the museum's artwork, an act that he regarded as a "symbolic" attack on France. On 18 March 2017, in the March 2017 Île-de-France attacks, a pair of terrorist attacks by the same individual occurred in Garges-lès-Gonesse, an outer suburb of Paris, and Orly Airport near Paris.