World’s most visited museum remains shut as staff strike

These long-standing pressures were significantly intensified by a brazen crown jewels heist in October, an incident that exposed serious security lapses within the museum.

The decision to prolong the walkout came during a general assembly on Wednesday morning, following its unanimous adoption earlier this week.

While the museum was already closed on Tuesday for its regular weekly shutdown, Reuters reports that the museum will be closed until further notice.

It was initially unclear whether a full reopening would be possible on Wednesday. Visitors holding tickets queued outside as management assessed staffing levels to determine if galleries could be safely opened.

Culture Ministry officials held crisis talks with unions on Monday and proposed to cancel a planned $6.7 million cut in 2026 funding, open new recruitment for gallery guards and visitor services and increase staff compensation. Union officials said the measures fell short.

The robbery saw a gang flee with stolen goods worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million). The museum director subsequently acknowledged a ″terrible failure" in security.

The thieves took less than eight minutes to force their way into the museum and leave, using a freight lift to reach one of the building’s windows, angle grinders to cut into jewelry display cases, and motorbikes to make their escape.

The stolen items haven’t been recovered. It includes a diamond-and-emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise, jewels tied to two 19th century queens, Marie-Amélie and Hortense, and Empress Eugénie’s pearl-and-diamond tiara.

Louvre President Laurence des Cars was scheduled to appear before the Senate’s culture committee later Wednesday as lawmakers continue probing security failures at the museum.

Des Cars has acknowledged an “institutional failure” following the heist but has come under renewed scrutiny after admitting she only learned of a critical 2019 security audit after the robbery.

France’s Court of Auditors and a separate administrative inquiry have since criticised delays in implementing a long-promised security overhaul.

The Culture Ministry announced emergency anti-intrusion measures last month and assigned Philippe Jost, who oversaw the Notre Dame restoration, to help reorganise the museum.

The move was widely seen as a sign of mounting pressure on Louvre leadership.