Louvre employees are planning a strike due to technical malfunctions, understaffing and inadequate conditions. The museum could remain closed during the critical holiday period.
Three trade unions have called for a strike to improve working conditions at the Louvre museum in Paris. TASR writes about it according to the AFP agency.
The CGT, Sud and CFDT unions proposed the start of the strike on Monday, December 15, when about 200 people voted “unanimously” at a staff meeting, CFDT official Valerie Baud told AFP. If he is supported by the rest of the 2,100 trade unionists, the museum is at risk of closing before the Christmas holidays, when Paris is full of holidaymakers.
Museum closing and problems
In a joint letter to Culture Minister Rachid Datia, the unions wrote on Monday that parts of the Louvre are regularly closed due to “insufficient staffing as well as technical breakdowns and an aging building”.
The strike announcement came a day after reports of flooding in the Egyptology section of the library in late November and nearly two months after a daylight break-in and theft of the crown jewels from the permanent collection. The museum also had to close the gallery with ancient Greek ceramics due to concerns about the safety of the ceiling structure.
Technical problems
The Louvre was also temporarily closed on June 16 when gallery workers, ticket sellers and security organized a spontaneous strike over staff shortages and overcrowding at the museum.
“The public has only limited access to works of art and has a problem with movement. Visiting the Louvre has become a real obstacle course,” the trade unionists wrote to the minister. AFP had a copy of their letter.
Pressure on the museum management
A series of incidents following the September jewel theft have increased pressure on the government-appointed head of the Louvre, Laurence des Cars, who has previously repeatedly highlighted the poor conditions and low maintenance costs of the vast former royal palace.
