Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., maker of the iPhone and iMac computer, opens the doors tomorrow to its first store in France, sharing a home with Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum.

The Apple store in the Carrousel du Louvre shopping center, below the I.M. Pei-designed pyramid at the museum complex, will sell Macs, iPods and iPhones and host the Cupertino, California- based company’s Genius Bar, where technicians will offer repairs and advice. The two-level shop will employ 150 workers.

“It’s about time they opened a shop in Paris,” said Claire Fournier, 41, who passed through the shopping center on her way to work today. “I have an iPhone and I will definitely visit this shop on my way back from work.”

The shop would be Apple’s 277th retail outlet and is smaller than the one on London’s Oxford Street. For Paris, Apple’s move follows Microsoft Corp.’s opening of a branded café in the French capital last month to coincide with the unveiling of its Windows 7 operating system.

The second store in France is set to open on Nov. 14 in Montpellier and another at the Opera in central Paris next summer, said Alan Hely, a London-based Apple spokesman.

Outside the Apple entrance today, tourists snapped pictures of the store as they queued at a nearby entrance to the Louvre. Apple shop employees inside milled around dusting off computers and attended to last-minute details, such as placing a placard near the entrance to announce the opening at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The company last month said fourth-quarter sales and profit beat analysts’ estimates on demand for iPhones, iPods and Mac personal computers. Net income rose to $1.67 billion, from $1.14 billion a year earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kristen Schweizer at kschweizer1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 06:10 EST