2025-12-17
Since Monday, December 15, the Louvre has been closed to visitors due to an ongoing strike. According to media reports, approximately 400 employees, or 1/5 of the entire staff, are participating in the strike.
We wrote about the problems at the Louvre a few months ago, and it did not concern the theft of diamonds. The museum made headlines in January this year when its current director, Laurence des Cars, informed President Macron about the deplorable condition of the museum building.
Shortly thereafter, the French president announced a renovation plan to be financed by a 45% increase in ticket prices for tourists from outside the European Union, to be introduced in January 2026.
Since then, however, reportedly little has changed.
The decisive moment for the strike was the flooding of one of the library rooms in the Louvre at the end of November caused by a burst pipe. Following this incident, trade unions announced a strike.
Louvre employees are primarily opposed to poor working conditions and staff shortages, as well as certain elements of the renovation plan announced by President Macron – according to union representatives, raising ticket prices for tourists from outside the EU is not an appropriate solution.