France, May 11 -- Faced with the rising cost of living, many students at the prestigious Ecole du Louvre art history school in Paris are finding themselves struggling financially. Its director has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help students focus on their studies rather than worry about paying their rent.

Tourists flocking to see the treasures inside the Louvre museum may find it hard to imagine that behind the grand sandstone facade in the heart of Paris, a third of its 1,800 students are struggling to make ends meet.

"When we see how magnificent the Louvre is, we can't begin to imagine that students studying at its school would have any kind of difficulty," says Claire Barbillon, director of the school since 2017.

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