Louvre Museum staff end 3-day strike after talks with French Culture Ministry

ISTANBUL

Staff at the Louvre Museum on Friday ended a three-day strike that had forced the famed Paris institution to close fully or partially since the start of the week, unions said.

The walkout began Monday, prompting the museum to shut its doors entirely that day. The Louvre remained closed on Tuesday, its regular weekly closure, before reopening only some sections to visitors on Wednesday and Thursday, Le Parisien reported.

Unions said employees decided not to extend the strike to allow negotiations with the Ministry of Culture to continue, although a strike notice remains in place.

“We didn’t vote for the strike because we want to give negotiations some breathing room,” said Valerie Baud, a delegate of the CFDT union.

CGT representative Christian Galani said there was still “room for maneuver” in talks with the ministry.

A delegation of staff met the Culture Ministry officials on Thursday to end the dispute, which comes as the museum continues to recover from the impact of a burglary in October.

Workers have been protesting chronic understaffing, the deteriorating condition of the building, and ticket price increases for non-European visitors.

In response, the Culture Ministry has pledged to reverse a €5.7 million ($6.67 million) cut in public funding for the Louvre and to address recruitment needs, though unions say the measures remain insufficient.