Staff at the Louvre in Paris staged another walkout, closing the museum on Monday morning before a partial reopening at noon. The strike, backed by three unions with 350 staff members voting unanimously, protests the Louvre–Nouvelle Renaissance redevelopment plan launched by President Emmanuel Macron. The plan includes a dedicated gallery for the Mona Lisa, a new entrance, and a $778 million budget, which unions call unrealistic. The museum reopened with limited access to iconic works like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory of Samothrace, while other galleries remained closed.
The walkout matters because it highlights deepening tensions between Louvre leadership and staff over prioritizing a costly expansion versus urgent technical maintenance and security upgrades. The dispute follows a three-day pre-Christmas strike and an October crown jewels heist that exposed security gaps. With a parliamentary investigation into museum safety imminent, the controversy puts pressure on director Laurence des Cars and raises broader questions about resource allocation at major cultural institutions.