The Louvre's breaking point: Why the world's most famous museum shut its doors
The Louvre, the world's most-visited museum, stood uncharacteristically silent on Monday, its doors barred by a spontaneous strike that left thousands of ticket-holding visitors stranded beneath I M Pei's glass pyramid.
The walkout, driven by gallery attendants, ticket agents, and security personnel, was a cry against unmanageable crowds, chronic understaffing, and what the CGT-Culture union deemed 'untenable' working conditions.
'It's the Mona Lisa moan out here,' Kevin Ward, a 62-year-old from Milwaukee, told France 24. 'Thousands of people waiting, no communication, no explanation. I guess even she needs a day off.'
The Louvre, along with Venice, the Great Barrier Reef and Machu Pichu, has become a case study in overtourism's toll. Last year, it welcomed 8.7 million visitors which was more than double its infrastructure's intended capacity. This was despite a daily cap limiting the number of visitors to 30,000.
The Mona Lisa, beloved by tourists, is blamed by the beleaguered staff. The Salle des États, home to Leonardo da Vinci's most famous work, sees some 20,000 daily visitors, the jostling crowds often ignoring nearby masterpieces to take a selfie with the somewhat smiling woman.
According to France 24, staff describe the experience as a 'physical ordeal,' exacerbated by scarce rest areas, limited bathrooms, and summer heat trapped by the pyramid's greenhouse effect. A leaked memo from Louvre President Laurence des Cars revealed deeper problems.
Parts of the building are no longer watertight, it states, with temperature swings threatening priceless works, and basic amenities falling short of global standards.
The strike, which erupted during a routine internal meeting, was a rare and sudden act. The Louvre has closed before during wars, the pandemic, and prior walkouts over overcrowding in 2019 and safety in 2013.
But never so abruptly and in full view of the public.
The closure came months after President Emmanuel Macron unveiled the 'Louvre New Renaissance,' a €700-800 million, decade-long plan to address the same issues the staff are highlighting today. The blueprint promises a dedicated room for the Mona Lisa with timed-entry tickets, a new Seine-side entrance by 2031 to ease pyramid congestion, and infrastructure upgrades to combat leaks and temperature fluctuations.
Funding will come from ticket revenue, private donations, state contributions, and licensing fees from the Louvre's Abu Dhabi outpost, with non-EU ticket prices set to rise later this year.
Yet for workers, Macron's vision feels like a distant mirage. 'We can't wait six years for help,' Sarah Sefian of CGT-Culture told France 24. 'Our teams are under pressure now. It's not just about the art—it's about the people protecting it.'
Sefian criticised Macron's 'hypocrisy,' noting that while he touts grand plans, the Louvre's state operating subsidies have dropped by over 20 percent in the past decade, even as visitor numbers soared. 'We take it very badly that Monsieur Le President makes his speeches here in our museum,' she said, 'but when you scratch the surface, the financial investment of the state is getting worse with each passing year.'
The Louvre's plight mirrors a broader reckoning with overtourism. From Venice's crowd caps to the Acropolis's timed entries, iconic sites are grappling with their own popularity.
Just a day before the strike, southern Europe saw coordinated anti-tourism protests. In Mallorca, Venice, Lisbon, and beyond, thousands rallied against an economic model that displaces locals and erodes urban life. In Barcelona, activists wielded water pistols to cool down runaway tourism.
As the strike unfolded, some workers considered opening a limited 'masterpiece route' for a few hours, granting access to highlights like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The museum, closed as usual on Tuesday, may fully reopen Wednesday, with some Monday ticket-holders potentially allowed to reuse their passes.
But the Louvre's deeper crisis – its limbo between underfunding and dysfunction – remains unresolved. Unlike Paris's Notre Dame or Centre Pompidou, both buoyed by state-backed restorations, the Louvre awaits its renaissance, a monument to art and ambition buckling under the weight of the world's gaze.
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