Paris' Louvre Museum closes again as staff strike enters 6th week

ISTANBUL

The Louvre Museum remained closed on Monday for the fourth time since mid-December as staff continued a strike over working conditions, with the world’s most visited museum in the French capital of Paris estimating losses of more than €1 million from the prolonged disruption.

At least 300 employees gathered in a general assembly on Monday morning and voted to extend the strike launched on Dec. 15, according to the CGT and CFDT unions.

Workers are protesting staff shortages and wage disparities with other employees under France’s Ministry of Culture, BFM TV reported.

The museum said the closure marks the latest setback in one of the longest social disputes in its history, despite several rounds of negotiations with management and the ministry.

The industrial action has already forced the Louvre to shut completely three times and to partially open its galleries on three other occasions. Even on days when the strike was not renewed, staff meetings delayed the opening of the museum by around two hours, leaving large numbers of tourists waiting outside.

Culture Minister Rachida Dati has described the employees’ demands as “legitimate.”

“What we need is political will to ensure that these pay gaps are compensated without delay,” said Christian Galani, a union representative, adding that the minister should act before leaving office to run for mayor of Paris.

Valerie Baud, a representative of the CFDT union, said museum management submitted a first set of proposals on working conditions on Sunday, but employees considered them “insufficient.”

The Louvre said earlier this month that revenue losses linked to the strike had already reached “at least one million euros.”