In Paris, the Louvre Museum was temporarily closed on Monday due to a surprise industrial action.

The world's most visited museum was only able to open around 2:30 p.m., according to a Louvre spokeswoman.

Visitors found the doors closed. The Louvre Museum remained inaccessible for several hours on Monday, June 16, due to a spontaneous industrial action by reception staff denouncing overtourism and the deterioration of their working conditions, the institution and the CGT Culture union announced to AFP. The world's most visited museum was only able to open around 2:30 p.m., according to a Louvre spokesperson. Images on social media showed hordes of tourists queuing, some sitting on the floor, in bewilderment.

The reception and security staff were protesting against the museum's "overcrowding" and "understaffing," Christian Galani, a member of the CGT Culture union's national office and representative at the Louvre, told AFP. Gathered for a "monthly union information hour" initiated by the Sud Culture Solidaires union, the employees refused to return to their posts until management acknowledged their grievances.

"In the space of 15 years, we have lost around 200 full-time equivalent jobs," lamented Christian Galani, who also pointed out "deteriorating visiting conditions" for the public. The enthusiasm of visitors - 20,000 admire Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa every day - often hinders visiting conditions in the surrounding areas, starting with Veronese's Wedding at Cana, which hangs in the same Hall of States.