Louvre staff call off strike, museum to open ‘as normal’: Unions, management

PARIS - Staff at the Louvre voted against continuing their strike on Dec 19, union representatives told AFP, ending three days of disruption which have added to the problems of the world’s most-visited museum.

Management said the Louvre, which was the victim of an embarrassing daylight heist on Oct 19,
would open “as normal” on Dec 19.

The former royal palace and its 400 rooms were shut to visitors all day on Dec 15, causing frustration for thousands of festive holidaymakers hoping to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa and other works.

The museum was closed for its usual day off on Dec 16 and then reopened only partially on Dec 17 and 18 as disgruntled staff pressed their demands
for more recruitment and better maintenance of the vast complex of buildings.

Union leaders from the CGT and CFDT said staff had voted against another day of stoppages, but warned of future industrial action because of “insufficient progress” in talks with management and the culture ministry.

Questions continue to swirl since the break-in over whether it was avoidable and why the stolen crown jewels worth more than US$100 million (S$130 million) appeared to be so poorly protected.

Two intruders used a truck-mounted extendable platform to access a gallery containing the jewels, slicing through a glass door with disk-cutters in front of startled visitors before stealing eight of the items.

As well as the robbery, two other recent incidents have highlighted maintenance problems inside the building which chief architect Francois Chatillon has described as “not in a good state”.

A water leak in November damaged hundreds of books and manuscripts in the Egyptian department, while management had to shut a gallery housing ancient Greek ceramics in October because ceiling beams above it risked giving way. AFP