ART

It appears that French Finance Minister Edouard Balladur--who refused to move out of his posh offices in the Louvre so that the museum could be expanded and refurbished--has finally agreed to leave. The Finance Ministry announced Wednesday that Balladur and Culture Minister Francois Leotard had struck a compromise: Balladur will move half of his 2,500-person staff by the end of the year, especially those whose offices are close to the proposed construction sites. The Louvre development scheme involves building a glass pyramid in the Louvre’s courtyard linking the wings of the 19th-Century palace, and building an elaborate series of tunnels and chambers underneath it. It should take about 10 years to complete.