Louvre workers vote to extend a strike as security scrutiny intensifies

The decision came during a morning general assembly, after workers had adopted the walkout unanimously earlier this week.

Employees at the Louvre Museum voted Wednesday to extend a strike that has disrupted operations at the world’s most visited museum.

(FILES) A notice informs members of the public of the closure of the Louvre Museum as members of the French CGT union protest outside the entrance as museum workers voted to go on strike against increasingly deteriorating working conditions and the declining visitor experience at the world famous museum, in Paris on December 15, 2025. Hundreds of tourists lined up outside the Louvre Museum on December 17, 2025 as its opening was delayed while unions voted on continuing a strike over working conditions at the Paris landmark. The world's most visited museum had closed its doors to thousands of disappointed visitors on December 15 after workers went on strike and protested outside the entrance. (Photo by Blanca CRUZ / AFP)(AFP)

Union workers were protesting chronic understaffing, building deterioration and recent management decisions — pressures intensified by a brazen crown jewels heist in October.

The decision came during a morning general assembly, after workers had adopted the walkout unanimously earlier this week. The museum was already closed Tuesday for its regular weekly shutdown.

It remained unclear whether the strike would force a full closure on Wednesday. Visitors holding tickets queued outside the museum in the morning as management assessed staffing levels and whether enough employees were available to safely open galleries.

Unions say frustration has mounted over staff shortages, aging infrastructure and a planned increase in ticket prices for non-European visitors.

Employees at the Louvre Museum were set to vote Wednesday morning on whether to extend a strike that shut the world’s most visited museum, as unions protest chronic understaffing, building deterioration and recent management decisions; pressures intensified by a brazen crown jewels heist in October.

Workers were expected to gather for a general assembly to decide whether to continue the walkout, which was adopted unanimously earlier this week. The museum was closed Tuesday for its regular weekly shutdown.

Unions say frustration has mounted over staff shortages, aging infrastructure and a planned increase in ticket prices for non-European visitors.

Tensions have been further sharpened by fallout from the theft of crown jewels during a daylight robbery that exposed serious security lapses at the museum.

Culture Ministry officials held crisis talks with unions Monday and proposed to cancel a planned $6.7 million cut in 2026 funding, open new recruitment for gallery guards and visitor services and increase staff compensation. Union officials said the measures fell short.

The labor vote is expected hours before Louvre President Laurence des Cars is scheduled to appear before the Senate’s culture committee at 4:30 p.m., as lawmakers continue probing security failures at the museum.

Des Cars has acknowledged an “institutional failure” following the heist but has come under renewed scrutiny after admitting she only learned of a critical 2019 security audit after the robbery. France’s Court of Auditors and a separate administrative inquiry have since criticized long delays in implementing a long-promised security overhaul.

The Culture Ministry announced emergency anti-intrusion measures last month and assigned Philippe Jost, who oversaw the Notre Dame restoration, to help reorganize the museum. The move was widely seen as a sign of mounting pressure on Louvre leadership.

The museum’s reopening now hinges on the outcome of Wednesday’s vote.