Employees at the Louvre Museum in Paris have voted to extend their strike, leading to continued disruptions at the world’s most visited museum. This decision, made during a morning assembly, follows a unanimous vote to initiate the walkout on Monday in response to ongoing issues such as chronic understaffing, building deterioration, and recent management decisions.
The Paris museum was already closed on Tuesday for its regular weekly shutdown, and it remains uncertain whether the strike will result in a complete closure on Wednesday. Visitors holding tickets waited outside the museum as management assessed staffing levels to determine if there were enough employees available to safely open the galleries.
Tensions escalated following a brazen theft of crown jewels during a daylight robbery in October that exposed serious security lapses at the museum. In light of these events, officials from the Culture Ministry engaged in crisis talks with union representatives on Monday. They proposed measures including reversing a planned funding cut for 2026, initiating recruitment for gallery guards and visitor services, and increasing staff compensation. However, union officials criticized these proposals as inadequate.
Louvre President Laurence des Cars is scheduled to address the Senate’s culture committee later Wednesday as lawmakers continue their investigation into security failures at the museum. Des Cars has acknowledged an “institutional failure” following the heist but has faced criticism for only discovering a critical security audit from 2019 after the robbery occurred.
In recent weeks, both France’s Court of Auditors and a separate administrative inquiry have raised concerns about delays in implementing a long-promised security overhaul. Last month, the Culture Ministry announced emergency anti-intrusion measures and appointed Philippe Jost, who previously oversaw the restoration of Notre Dame, to assist in reorganizing the museum’s security protocols. This move has been interpreted as an indication of escalating pressure on the leadership of the Louvre.
As the strike continues, the future of the museum’s operations hangs in the balance, with both staff and visitors awaiting further developments.
