Ongoing protests block entrance to the Louvre

It’s unclear when it will reopen

The week started with an unpleasant surprise for tourists lining up to visit the iconic Louvre Museum in Paris. The anti-government protests that have been rocking the country in recent days have now directly affected one of the French capital’s most popular attractions.

Reportedly, the action had been previously announced by the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). The protest included the participation of museum staff, who had joined the strike and the protest against the pension-age reform pushed ahead by President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

The visitors, however, were caught unaware, with many expressing frustration that after having travelled from distant locations, they will now not be able to enjoy the cultural treasures of the museum.

"This is ridiculous, we come from everywhere in the world with our children to visit a museum and it’s ridiculous that 20 people are blocking the entrance," said Samuel, a Mexican tourist, as quoted by Reuters.

The Louver’s website and social media accounts apologized for the inconvenience and stated that the institution would not work today. However, there were no further details as to when the museum will be able to welcome visitors again.

Separately, Paris police said they were carrying out an operation to prevent unauthorised gatherings in front of the Centre Pompidou, another landmark museum in Paris.

Most visited museum in the world

The frustration is comprehensible given that the Louvre is a cultural icon on its own. In fact, just a few days ago, it was revealed by The Art Newspaper that it was the most visited museum in the world for 2022 with more than 7.7 million visitors having passed through its doors last year. For comparison, the second most popular museum were the Vatican Museums, which received 2.5 million visitors less.

Nevertheless, the peak in visitor numbers was achieved back in 2018, when more than 10 million people went to the Louvre. However, this was considered a bit excessive by the management in whose opinion this took away from the overall experience. That’s why, it was decided to put a cap on the number of daily visits in the future.