The Louvre was closed today at nine in the morning, its usual opening time, and will remain so throughout the day after the unanimous vote at a workers’ assembly held early in the morning. The tourists asked the employees of a private security company, who made gestures and shook them off. Others were more eloquent. “Yes, it’s closed. Why? You know, this is France,” said a lady with walkie talkie at the foot of the glass pyramid where every day some 40,000 visitors enter the most important art gallery in the world, today immersed in
At 9:30 it was still not known if the museum would open this Monday. The unions had called for a “reviewable strike” against “increasingly degraded working conditions” and the deterioration of customer service at the museum. Around 10 in the morning it became clear that the Louvre will not open its doors today, due to lack of sufficient staff. “We are preparing on Monday for a powerful mobilization. We will have many more strikers than usual,” Christian Galani, of the CGT, the majority union at the Louvre, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) to Agence France-Presse (AFP), which denounces, like other professional organizations, problems of lack of personnel.
The French museum has entered a complicated spiral of tensions, degradation and security problems that found its lowest point and jewels from the Napoleonic period valued at 88 million euros were taken. The theft, the robbery of the century for many, occurred in broad daylight, using a type of forklift with a crane parked on one of the busiest avenues in Paris. The security lapses were calamitous and the subsequent explanations by museum director Laurence des Cars, and increased the sense of chaos.
of the museum in recent years. The first was prepared before the assault occurred, covers the period from 2018 to 2024 and criticized that, during all those years, the museum management prioritized the acquisition of works over security or improvement of the facilities. 2,754 pieces were purchased in eight years. But nothing was done with the personnel or video surveillance problems in the rooms, which were clearly insufficient.
Added to the theft of the century was the closure of one of the most emblematic rooms due to the risk of collapse and the flooding of the Egyptian Antiquities library, which damaged 400 works.
On Monday, many of the visitors were unaware of all these details and showed up at the museum entrance with their tickets. “They have told us that it is likely that they will not open and that they would refund our money,” explains Lucía, a Spanish woman who was already heading out of the premises to go to the Notre Dame Cathedral. “Let’s see if they let us in there.”
The strike threatens to create an even bigger problem if it extends into the Christmas season. The Minister of Culture tried to prevent it last week and met with the unions with the commitment not to apply the cut in 5.7 million euros in public financing of the Louvre provided for in the 2026 budget bill. But, for now, there has been no response from the workers.
The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced a year ago a major reform of the museum to alleviate its deficiencies and improve access. , had sent an explosive letter to the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, denouncing a panorama of extreme decay: leaks, poor conservation of works of art, deterioration of an “old” building and, above all, an unsatisfactory experience for visitors. The letter was a premonition of everything that was going to happen in the following months, but the reform is still not clear or how it will be financed.
