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The Louvre museum is facing the prospect of significant disruption after unions representing its staff announced a rolling strike set to begin on Monday, heightening uncertainty over access to the world’s most visited museum during the busy Christmas holiday season.
Workers are calling for urgent measures to address chronic understaffing, worsening overcrowding, security failures, and long-delayed repairs to the historic building.
Union officials warned that the strike could result in partial or full closures, depending on staff participation. Christian Galani, a representative of the hard-left CGT union, said management would struggle to keep the museum operating normally.
“I cannot guarantee that the institution will be open,” he said. “If it does open, it will be with a very limited route, simply to demonstrate that the museum is technically open.”
The Louvre employs over 2,200 people, and unions say a majority have voted in favor of continued strike action. All three major unions representing museum staff have backed the walkout, signalling an unusually high level of unity.
While previous strikes have largely involved reception and security personnel, unions say this action will include a much broader range of employees.
Curators, scientists, documentarians, collections managers, and workshop staff have all indicated their intention to strike, reflecting widespread frustration across departments.
Employees argue that years of staffing reductions have left them unable to cope with the sheer volume of visitors. The Louvre welcomes several million more people each year than its infrastructure was designed to handle, with daily visitor numbers often reaching 30,000.
The museum has increasingly become a symbol of so-called over-tourism in Paris. Unions describe the visitor experience as an “obstacle course” marked by long queues, congested galleries, inadequate sanitation facilities and limited catering options.
Beyond overcrowding, staff have raised alarms about the condition of the former royal palace.
Recent water leaks damaged hundreds of books and documents in the Egyptian department, while structural problems have forced the closure of certain galleries.
The strike follows intense scrutiny of the museum’s security after a brazen daylight robbery in October, when thieves used an extendable ladder and power tools to steal crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million in front of visitors.
Investigations later revealed that only one exterior security camera was functioning at the time and that control room staff lacked sufficient equipment to monitor footage in real time.
Unions have also criticized plans to increase ticket prices by 45% for visitors from outside the European Economic Area, calling the measure discriminatory.
They argue that foreign visitors would be asked to pay more to see a museum where parts of the collection are regularly inaccessible due to staff shortages and maintenance work.
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