Louvre staff voted unanimously to strike starting December 15, following a meeting of 200 employees from three unions. The unions filed a strike notice with France’s Ministry of Culture, citing a museum in “crisis” with “increasingly deteriorated working conditions” and describing the visitor experience as a “real obstacle course.” The strike could force closures during the busy holiday period. This action follows a year of turmoil at the museum, including a January leaked memo from director Laurence des Cars warning of water leaks and overcrowding, a June wildcat strike over working conditions, and an October theft of $102 million in French royal jewels that exposed outdated security systems. Structural issues recently forced closure of the Sully wing, and a water leak damaged 400 books in the Egyptian antiquities library.
The strike matters because it underscores deep, unresolved institutional problems at the world’s most visited museum, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of a €700–800 million renovation plan called the “Louvre New Renaissance.” Staff unrest has persisted even after the plan’s unveiling, with unions complaining of staff reductions and security shortcomings that will not be fully addressed until end of 2026. The French Parliament has launched its own investigation, signaling that the crisis has escalated beyond internal disputes to a matter of national cultural policy. The outcome could affect the museum’s operations, reputation, and the implementation of the renovation plan.