The Louvre 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, with images on social media showing hordes of tourists queuing, some sitting on the floor, in bewilderment.
The Louvre Museum remained inaccessible for several hours on the morning of 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 told AFP. The world's most visited museum was only able to open around 2:30 p.m., according to a Louvre spokesperson, with images on social media showing 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" at the initiative of 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 to "deteriorating visiting conditions" for the public.
The sheer number of visitors—20,000 admire Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa every day—often hinders the accessibility of the surrounding spaces, starting with Veronese's Wedding at Cana, hung in the same Hall of States. The institution is generally limited to a daily capacity of 30,000 visitors. The Louvre welcomed nearly 9 million people in total in 2024, 80% of whom were foreign tourists, ahead of the British Museum, the Vatican Museums, and the Met in New York.
The president and director of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, sounded the alarm in January, describing a dilapidated institution facing, among other things, problems with water infiltration and temperature in the rooms for the conservation of works. In response, President Emmanuel Macron announced a colossal renovation project, the cost of which is estimated at around 700 to 800 million euros over ten years, according to his entourage. Dubbed the "New Renaissance of the Louvre," it includes a new entrance by 2031 to relieve congestion around the glass pyramid, an exhibition room dedicated to the Mona Lisa, as well as a more expensive admission ticket for non-European visitors, with an ultimate goal of 12 million annual visitors.
lefigaro
