The world’s largest traffic museum and a global symbol of art and beauty remained closed on Monday 16/6 not because of an emergency event, but because of its exhausted staff, which states that the institution is collapsing from the inside.
The home of the works of Leonardo da Vinci and the priceless treasures of the world cultural heritage paralyzes the people who have undertaken to welcome the world to its halls.
And yet yesterday’s moment surpassed a simple labor protest. The Louvre has been converted into a barometer of the global hyper -tourist crisis, a gold -plated palace that collapses at the expense of its own reputation. As tourist destinations such as Venice and the Acropolis are trying to limit crowds, the world’s most iconic museum is confronted with its own crisis moment
A meeting that ended up in protest
The strike broke out during an ordinary meeting of workers, when classrooms, ticket offices and security personnel refused to take service, protesting the miserable crowds, chronic under -staffing and, as a “unnecessary” union described them.
“What started as a scheduled monthly informative meeting has evolved into a massive expression of indignation,” said Sarah Sefian of the CGT-Culture trade union. Negotiations between workers and administration started at 10:30 in the morning and continued until the afternoon. Until early in the afternoon the museum remained closed.
The full renovation plan – at an estimated cost of 700–800 million euros – is expected to be funded by ticket revenue, private donations, government funds and licensing rights by the Louvre branch in Abu Dhabi. Ticket prices for tourists outside the EU They are expected to increase later this year. However, workers say their needs are more urgent than any decade of planning.
Macron promises
Unlike other major sights in Paris, such as the Virgin Mary of Paris or the Pompidou Center, renovated with state support, the Louvre remains in a transitional gap, neither fully funded nor fully operational.
President Macron, who spent his 2017 victory in the Louvre and promoted it during the Paris Olympics in 2024, has promised a safer, more modern museum by the end of the decade. Until then, France’s greatest cultural treasury – and the crowds that flood it – remain trapped between the cracks.
“Thousands of people are waiting, without information, without explanation. It is rare for the Louvre to close its doors to the public. It has happened during wars, in the pandemic, and in a few strikes, including spontaneous retirements due to crowding in 2019 and security concerns in 2013. But it rarely has this form: tourists crowded in the square, with their hand tickets, without any clear explanation. Ward from Milwaukee who went to visit the museum.
A museum in waiting
The Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors last year, more than twice the number that its infrastructure can support. Even with a daily limit of 30,000 staff says that the experience has become a daily endurance test, with few rest, limited toilets and heat reinforced by the pyramid greenhouse.
In a note, the Louvre President, Loranes de Carr, warned that parts of the building “are no longer waterproof”, that temperature fluctuations threaten invaluable works of art, and that even the basic needs of visitors – toilets. Described the experience simply as “a physical test”.
