Louvre workers went on strike after months of mounting pressure on the world’s most visited museum, which unions have described as being “in crisis.”
According to France24, the strike comes as the museum struggles with the aftermath of a daylight jewel heist and an earlier staff strike that abruptly shut the Louvre and stranded thousands of visitors beneath I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid.
Last month, the Louvre also announced the temporary closure of some employees’ offices and one public gallery because of weakened floor beams.
During the robbery on October, thieves used a basket lift to reach the Louvre’s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with pieces of the French crown jewels.
A Senate inquiry released last week said the thieves escaped with barely 30 seconds to spare, citing broken cameras, outdated equipment, understaffed control rooms and poor coordination that initially sent police to the wrong location.
For employees, the high-profile incident crystallized long-standing concerns that crowding and thin staffing were undermining security and working conditions at a museum that welcomes millions of visitors each year.
Those tensions spilled into public view in June, when striking workers brought the museum to a halt. Visitors with timed tickets waited in long, unmoving lines outside as the doors failed to open – an image that rippled across social media and underscored how fragile operations at the sprawling institution had become.
Unions say talks with the government have made progress but remain incomplete.
