Unions warn museum may not open as staff demand guarantees after proposed funding cuts.
At a general assembly held Monday morning, the 400 workers at Paris’ Louvre Museum voted “unanimously” to continue their strike to demand better working conditions and proper maintenance of the facilities.
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“There is such a level of exasperation that everything indicates the conditions are in place for a very strong strike,” said Christian Galani, a representative of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), one of the organizations that, together with the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT) and the Solidarity, Unitary and Democratic union (SUD), called the strike at the Louvre.
“We are preparing for a strong mobilization on Monday. We will have many more strikers than usual,” he said, recalling that last week the unions met with Culture Minister Rachida Dati in an attempt to avert the strike.
“According to the French newspaper Le Figaro, the French culture minister promised to review a 5.7 million euro cut in public funding for the Louvre planned in the 2026 finance bill,” Publico reported.
"Ils ont raison. Il faut mettre la pression sur le Ministère de la culture.”
Le #Louvre fermé en raison d’une #grève reconductible.
Depuis le vol du 19 oct., le plus grand musée du monde traverse une période de tourmente, frappé par une série de dysfonctionnements.
@BMFTV pic.twitter.com/IATuNPfLYh— Noémie Wira (@NoemieWira) December 15, 2025
The text reads, “‘They’re right. We need to put pressure on the Culture Ministry.’ The Louvre is closed due to an ongoing strike. Since the robbery on October 19, the world’s largest museum has gone through a turbulent period, plagued by a series of breakdowns.”
“I don’t see how, under these conditions, the museum can open,” Galani said in front of the iconic pyramid that serves as the institution’s entrance. The end of the strike “will depend on whether we have clear guarantees commensurate with the challenges,” said Elise Muller, the SUD representative.
Dati pledged to abandon the budget cuts, but the unions are demanding that the money be allocated to maintaining the museum rather than to the planned renovation, which they argue will not improve the institution’s overall conditions.
In their sights is the museum’s current director, Laurence des Cars, whom they accuse of prioritizing major spectacles instead of addressing the museum’s necessary rehabilitation.
The strike that began this Monday took some tourists by surprise. “I didn’t know there was a strike,” said Michael Gamer, a tourist who arrived from Texas and said he was unaware of the reasons for the walkout, though he expressed understanding for the workers. “In general, I support strikes. It’s probably because something needs to change,” he stated.
The Louvre Museum 🇫🇷 was the scene of a historic robbery: in just seven minutes, armed thieves stole historic jewels.
⚠️ An event that calls into question the #security of one of the most visited venues in the world. pic.twitter.com/zViQwupdub
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 23, 2025
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE – Publico
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