The Louvre Museum is set to partially reopen after staff voted Wednesday to extend a strike that has disrupted operations at the world’s most visited museum.
Unions say frustration has mounted over staff shortages, ageing infrastructure and a planned increase in ticket prices for non-European visitors.
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.
The union 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.
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Culture Ministry officials held crisis talks with unions on Monday and proposed to cancel a planned $6.7 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
Louvre President Laurence des Cars was scheduled to appear before the Senate’s culture committee later Wednesday as lawmakers continue probing security failures at the museum.
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 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.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)