Mere weeks after a major jewel heist and more recently after water leaks damaged historic books, staff at the Louvre in Paris is on strike over working conditions.
According to the BBC, the strike vote by staff was unanimous and it isn’t immediately clear how long the strike will continue. Meanwhile, the Louvre is normally the world’s most-visited museum, but today its doors were closed as workers went on strike over working conditions and other complaints. This has dealt another blow to the iconic Paris landmark, following the embarrassing jewelry heist in October. It also comes in the wake of a water leak damaging historic Egyptian books in the museum.
According to the CFDT union, a meeting of 400 workers on Monday morning voted unanimously to strike for the day. Soon after, the striking workers blocked the Louvre’s iconic glass pyramid entrance, waving flags, placards and banners. It is still unclear whether the strike will last longer than one day.
💥 Le Louvre est fermé !
Réuni·es ce matin en AG, les travailleur·euses du musée ont voté la grève à l’unanimité.
Sous-effectifs, bâtiment vétuste, gestion calamiteuse, salaires, conditions de travail, tarifs prohibitifs… face au silence de la direction, la colère explose ! pic.twitter.com/IZIfYL2zFM
— La CGT (@lacgtcommunique) December 15, 2025
The Louvre’s website initially posted an updated notice, saying the museum was “exceptionally” closed for the day and that ticket holders will be reimbursed. The museum is closed on Tuesdays, but its website was updated to read, “Wednesday 17 December: Due to public strikes, the museum may open later and some exhibition rooms may remain closed. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
The vote to strike followed last week’s talks between labor unions and government officials, including France’s Culture Minister Rachida Dati. Meanwhile, labor leaders said so far, talks haven’t alleviated their staffing and financing concerns for an iconic museum that sees millions of visitors each year.
Problems In Paris: Water Leak At The Louvre Damages Historic Books https://t.co/eujh4nkEIc via @theinquisitr
— Anne Sewell (@anners2008) December 16, 2025
Speaking of the strike, Alexis Fritche, General Secretary of the culture wing of CFDT union said, “Visiting the museum has become an obstacle course.” Meanwhile, employees’ concerns about security and working conditions at the Louvre were proven by the brazen daylight jewel heist. The gang used a basket lift up the Louvre’s facade and then forced a window open to enter the museum. They then smashed display cases before fleeing with some of the iconic French crown jewels.
However, despite being an easy heist, police arrests have now captured the whole four-man team who allegedly made off with $102 million in jewels. Meanwhile, a senate inquiry revealed that the gang escaped by barely 30 seconds, while blaming broken security cameras, outdated equipment, poor coordination and understaffed control rooms that led to police initially heading to the wrong location.
When announcing the staff strike, the CFDT said in a statement that employees want more security staff, improved working conditions, stable, long-term, budgets for the museum, and a leadership that “truly listens to staff.”
According to Yvan Navarro of the CGT union, staff numbers have continued to decline, while visitor numbers increase. “People come to Paris to visit the museums. So the visitor numbers go up, the tariffs and the prices go up, because everything is becoming more expensive but the salaries and the numbers of staffers don’t go up so obviously you reach a point like today, a day of anger,” he said.
Last week the CFDT, CGT and Sud unions said in a notice of open-ended strike action that the Louvre museum was in “crisis,” with “increasingly deteriorated working conditions” and insufficient resources.
