the workers in the museum. They complained that the conditions in which that they work in are getting worse and worse.

While thousands of people waited outside the doors, waiting to be let inside the famous museum, workers inside were having a meeting to discuss their working conditions and crowd management. This caused the unscheduled strike and closed the museum temporarily.

Christian Galani, spokesman for the C.G.T. – Culture labor union, said in an interview that “at the end of their monthly meeting, the staff members decided to perform a wildcat strike,” which is an unauthorized work stoppage without a vote by union membership. This strike was caused by several reasons.

First, the working conditions continued to exacerbate, so the workers at the Louvre keep getting even more exhausted. According to Galani, more than 200 jobs have been lost at the Louvre in the last 15 years. Even though French President Emmanuel Macron promised to renovate the Louvre in January, nothing has changed, and the workers are still very stressed out.

Second, there are also too many visitors. Now, the Louvre limits daily attendance to 30,000 people, which is already decreased compared to the 45,000 people before the coronavirus pandemic. The Louvre has already been struggling to cope with overcrowding for years, especially as its popularity increases.

In late 2023, the museum finally announced some more changes. For example, they raised the ticket price from 17 euros to 22 euros for foreign tourists to support a free entry project for local residents. Also, in January, Macron announced that the famous painting, the Mona Lisa, will be moved into its own exhibition space to help regulate visitors and tourists there. However, the workers at the museum are still too overworked and therefore held this strike.

Luckily, the Louvre reopened at 2:30 P.M. and will continue to open regularly afterwards.

The protests against tourists were happening in other areas too. For example, a weekend before in Barcelona, Spain, some activists showed frustration over too much tourism in these European cities. Local demonstrators were seen holding signs like “Tourism is stealing from us” to show their displeasure at over-tourism.

With over-tourism leading to many more visitors and then worse conditions, the workers at the Louvre couldn’t stand it anymore and therefore held a strike. Hopefully, the museum leaders can do something about having better improving working conditions and also regulating tourists to help the workers.