Louvre Museum Closes Its Doors Amid Staff Strike

The Louvre, the most-visited museum in the world, shut its doors on Monday after staff went on strike, claiming the institution is “crumbling” due to mass tourism.

Thousands of visitors were left confused, standing in unmoving lines outside the iconic glass pyramid.

Kevin Ward, from Milwaukee, said there were “thousands of people waiting” but “no explanation” from the museum.

The sudden walkout came during a routine meeting, when ticket agents, gallery attendants, and security staff refused to report for duty. They cited chronic understaffing and overwhelming crowds as the tipping point.

The Louvre, the most iconic museum in the world, is visited by millions each year. However, it has reached a tipping point in recent years.

Last year, the Louvre saw over 8.7 million visitors, more than twice the number its infrastructure was designed to handle.

Despite having a daily cap of 30,000, staff say each day feels like a battle, with a shortage of rest areas, limited bathrooms, and stifling indoor conditions. During the summer, the heat also creates a greenhouse effect inside the museum, pushing temperatures to dangerously high levels.

The Louvre, which originally opened in 1793, rarely closes its doors. Since its opening, it has only shut down during times of war, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a few labor strikes, the most recent of which occurred in 2019.

However, spontaneous walkouts in full view of the public are almost unheard of.

The protest follows President Emmanuel Macron’s recent announcement of a decade-long plan to address longstanding issues at the museum, including outdated infrastructure, water leaks, and extreme temperature fluctuations.

For workers, however, that is too long of a wait.

Sarah Sefian, who works as a visitor services agent and gallery attendant, said “[they] can’t wait six years for help” and that “[their] teams are under pressure now.”

The Daily Mob at The Mona Lisa

The Louvre is home to the iconic 16th-century portrait, the Mona Lisa, which draws massive crowds every day.

Nearly 20,000 visitors pack into the gallery daily, all eager to snap a selfie with Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. The scene is loud and chaotic, often overshadowing nearby works by artists like Veronese and Titian, which go largely unnoticed.

Ji-Hyun Park, a tourist from South Korea who traveled to Paris specifically to visit the museum, said the experience was disappointing as “all you can see are phones and elbows”.

Park also recalls being pushed out of the room by the large crowds.

President Macron’s renovation plan, known as the “Louvre New Renaissance”, plans on fixing these issues by giving the Mona Lisa her own dedicated room, which visitors will only be able to enter with a timed-entry ticket.

The new entrance for the museum is scheduled to be finished by 2031.