Unions at the crisis-hit Louvre Museum in Paris will begin a strike on Monday, demanding urgent renovations and increased staffing, while also protesting against higher ticket prices for most non-EU visitors, including British and American tourists.
The world’s most visited museum — which has endured several difficult months following a major jewelry theft, damaging water leaks, and safety concerns over the ceiling of one gallery — could face days of partial or full closure during one of its busiest periods of the year if a significant number of its 2,100 employees vote to continue the strike, the BBC reports.
The museum is still reeling from the October 19 robbery, when a four-member gang carried out a daytime raid, stealing approximately €88 million worth of French crown jewels in just seven minutes before fleeing on scooters. Four men have been arrested and placed under formal investigation, but the stolen jewels have not been recovered.
In November, a water leak damaged between 300 and 400 magazines, books, and documents in the Egyptian department. Subsequently, a gallery containing nine rooms of ancient Greek ceramics was closed due to concerns over the safety of the ceiling. All three unions at the Louvre — CGT, Sud, and CFDT — announced an open-ended strike, stating: “Staff feel today as if they are the last bastion before collapse.”
The unions said the jewelry theft exposed years of hardship, staff cuts, and insufficient state investment in the museum, which welcomed 8.7 million visitors last year.
They also described as discriminatory the Louvre’s decision to raise ticket prices by 45% for visitors from outside the European Economic Area in order to generate revenue for structural upgrades.
Visitors from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and China — among the museum’s largest visitor groups — will be required to pay €32 for entry starting in January.
