Staff at the Musée du Louvre, the world's most visited museum, walked off the job on Monday morning, forcing an unscheduled closure. Thousands of visitors with pre-booked tickets were left waiting outside I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid in 27°C heat as gallery attendants, ticket agents, and security personnel gathered in the auditorium to protest overcrowded galleries and worsening visiting conditions. The walkout lasted a few hours; management representatives met with staff, and the museum reopened around 2:30pm. It was the second walkout this year.
The protest highlights deep tensions between staff and leadership at the Louvre, which saw 8.7 million visitors last year. Director Laurence des Cars has capped daily attendance at 30,000 and proposed a €1bn renovation including a new entrance and a dedicated room for the Mona Lisa, but unions oppose the plan, arguing that understaffing and poor management—not just visitor numbers—are the root causes. The walkout signals a crisis of confidence in museum leadership and raises broader questions about sustainable tourism and working conditions at major cultural institutions.