Louvre workers vote to extend strike as security scrutiny intensifies

Unions demonstrate at the entrance of the Louvre museum (Christophe Ena/AP)

Employees at the Louvre Museum voted to extend a strike that has disrupted operations at the world’s most visited museum.

The attraction in Paris partially opened on Wednesday to allow visitors to enjoy the “Mona Lisa” and other highlights.

The museum said that visitors have started entering the building, where they had access to a limited “masterpiece route” which includes Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the famous Venus de Milo.

“Due to a strike, some rooms in the Louvre Museum are … closed,” it said on social media. “We apologise for any inconvenience.”

Workers display banners outside the Louvre museum after they voted to strike over working conditions and other complaints (Michel Euler/AP)

Unions are protesting chronic understaffing, building deterioration and recent management decisions – pressures that have been intensified by a brazen crown jewels heist in October.

The decision came during a morning general assembly, after workers had adopted the walkout unanimously earlier this week.

The museum was already closed on Tuesday for its regular weekly shutdown.

It remained unclear whether the strike would force a full closure on Wednesday. Visitors holding tickets queued outside the museum in the morning as management assessed staffing levels and whether enough employees were available to safely open galleries.

Unions say frustration has mounted over staff shortages, aging infrastructure and a planned increase in ticket prices for non-European visitors.

A board at the entrance of the Louvre museum signals the museum opening is delayed (Christophe Ena/AP)

Tensions have been further sharpened by fallout from the theft of crown jewels during a daylight robbery that exposed serious security lapses at the museum.

Culture Ministry officials held crisis talks with unions on Monday and proposed to cancel a planned 6.7 million dollar (£5 million) cut in 2026 funding, open new recruitment for gallery guards and visitor services and increase staff compensation.

Union officials said the measures fell short.

The vote comes hours before Louvre President Laurence des Cars is scheduled to appear before the Senate’s culture committee as politicians continue probing security failures at the museum.

Laurence des Cars, director of Le Louvre museum, is set to appear before the culture committee (Michel Euler/AP)

Ms Des Cars has acknowledged an “institutional failure” following the heist but has come under renewed scrutiny after admitting she only learned of a critical 2019 security audit after the robbery.

France’s Court of Auditors and a separate administrative inquiry have since criticised long delays in implementing a long-promised security overhaul.

The Culture Ministry announced emergency anti-intrusion measures last month and assigned Philippe Jost, who oversaw the Notre Dame restoration, to help reorganise the museum.

The move was widely seen as a sign of mounting pressure on Louvre leadership.