Paris’s Iconic Louvre Museum Has Unexpectedly Closed Its Doors

712

When one visits Paris and its surrounding areas, there are typically a few things on their checklist:

• The Eiffel Tower
• Notre Dame
• The Arc de Triomphe
• Sacre Coeur
• The Seine River

But what might be on the top of every tourist’s “must see” list is The Louvre. And with good reason – it’s home to some of the greatest artistic masterpieces in the world. In fact, upwards of 10 million visitors per year pack in to see the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and, of course, the Mona Lisa.

But not today. Because in an unprecedented move, the staff of the Louvre, the most-visited museum in the world, has shut the doors of the museum, because they say the institution is crumbling under the weight of mass tourism. Without any warning ahead of time, gallery attendants, ticketing personnel and security guards, among others, refused to work, due to chronic understaffing and what one union calls “untenable” working conditions.

The strike happened spontaneously, called during a routine internal staff meeting, and leaving thousands of ticket holders outside, confused and unsure of when the museum will reopen.

“It’s the Mona Lisa moan out here,” Milwaukee resident Kevin Ward, one of the hordes who expected to visit the museum today, said to the Associated Press. “Thousands of people waiting, no communication, no explanation. I guess even she needs a day off.”

There was no official information from the museum. A message posted on the museum’s website said: “Due to strikes in France, the museum may open later and some exhibition rooms may remain closed. We thank you for your understanding.”

As of early this morning, the website showed the inability to buy tickets for today, the same as a Tuesday (the Louvre is typically closed on Tuesdays).

The strike occurred months after President Macron announced a long-term plan to help the Louvre with its ongoing issues – water leaks, dangerous temperature swings, outdated infrastructure and foot traffic much larger than what the museum can handle.

Case in point, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa gets over 20,000 visitors per day. The room where the 16th-century artwork is housed, the Salle des États, is the museum’s largest room – but many visitors, packed in like sardines and quickly ushered out, don’t even get to see the prized artwork.

Macron’s plan to house the Mona Lisa in a new room, accessible through a timed-entry ticket, is scheduled to be completed in 2031.

But museum workers suggest those fixes are needed right now.

“We can’t wait six years for help,” said Sarah Sefian of the CGT-Culture union. “Our teams are under pressure now. It’s not just about the art — it’s about the people protecting it.”

High ranking staff were determining ways to reopen the Louvre, but no decisions have yet been made.

Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.

Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.

Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.

Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!

This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary