Louvre closed after spontaneous strike over staff shortages and overcrowding

The world's most visited museum has been unable to withstand the wave of overtourism. As reported by the Associated Press, the Louvre was the scene of a spontaneous strike on Monday, June 16, leaving thousands of visitors stranded, ticket in hand but unable to wander around. The movement echoes protests that have emerged in recent days in cities across southern Europe, decided during an internal meeting when museum staff refused to return to their posts.

"What was supposed to be a monthly information meeting has turned into a huge demonstration of exasperation," Sarah Sefian, a reception and cultural mediation agent, explained to the American agency. Unmanageable crowds, chronic understaffing and "untenable" working conditions: ticket clerks, reception and security staff collectively denounce overcrowding within the walls of the enclosure, whose maximum capacity is 30,000 people per day, for 8.7 million visitors per year, more than double what the museum should be able to support, as its president Laurence des Cars acknowledges.

This overcrowding is all the more problematic given that the Louvre is suffering from dilapidation, obsolescence, and deterioration, the manager confided to Le Parisien last January. President Macron did propose a ten-year plan in January to plug the numerous leaks observed, but the package seems too long-term to employees. "We can't wait six years for help," Sarah Sefian continued to AP, concerned to see teams "under pressure. […] It's not just a question of art, it's a question of the people who protect it."

What's more, the presidential plan's objectives, in the range of 700 to 800 million euros, are falling flat on the face of the staff. Made concrete by the provision of a room for the Mona Lisa alone, glimpsed every day by 20,000 people, and the creation of an additional entrance on the Seine side, it looks like additional work for employees, accompanied by a reduction in annual operating subsidies. " We take it very badly that the President makes his speeches in our museum," laments Sarah Sefian. "When you scratch a little, the State's investment is deteriorating every year."