Famed Paris modern art museum the Pompidou Centre said Wednesday it had filed a legal complaint and suspended an employee after a hidden camera was found in the women's toilets of its offices.

A statement from the famed modern art space, which closed its doors last year for renovations, said an employee had discovered "an image-recording device" on Jan. 14 in offices housing building management and security staff near its main site.

"The Centre Pompidou has filed a complaint and referred the matter to the public prosecutor," a spokesperson for the museum told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an email.

In a separate internal communication, seen by AFP, management said that "the alleged perpetrator has been identified and, given the seriousness of the facts, immediately suspended from duty."

One female staff member, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said women had been "traumatized" by the news and were urging management to be more transparent about their findings.

The home of one of the world's largest modern art collections shut last September for an overhaul set to cost an estimated 460 million euros ($550 million).