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Indian Express
18-06-2025
- Indian Express
Explained: Strike at Louvre Museum & growing menace of overtourism
On Monday morning, tourists eager for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa found themselves locked out of the world's most-visited museum. Lines stretched beyond the Louvre's iconic glass pyramid, only to be met with shuttered doors. Staffers refused to resume their duties to protest against frustrating working conditions and overcrowding. A message on the Louvre's official website read, 'Due to strikes in France, the museum may open later and some exhibition rooms may remain closed. We thank you for your understanding.' The museum, which remains closed on Tuesdays, is expected to return to normalcy as it reopens on Wednesday. News agency AP reported that visitors with passes from Monday may be allowed to reuse them. The Louvre, a symbol of France's cultural prestige, is cracking under the weight of its own popularity. And it's not alone. From the cobbled streets of Venice to the sacred slopes of Mount Fuji, tourist hotspots around the world are reaching a breaking point. Crumbling infrastructure at the Louvre Museum A spokesperson of a workers' union told AP that the strike was led by front-house staff, including reception agents, gallery attendants and security workers. The workers expressed 'mass exasperation' at a scheduled monthly information session, which eventually led to the strike as workers waited to speak to the management. 'Overcrowding and understaffing are the main issues being raised,' the spokesperson said. The Louvre Museum, which houses one of the most celebrated artworks, the Mona Lisa, welcomed nearly 9 million visitors in 2024 and 2023. The figure is twice the number of annual visitors that the glass pyramid entrance was meant to cater to when it was installed in 1989. At its peak in 2018, the Louvre had 10.2 million visitors. While the tourist volume was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021, the visitor count reached 7.8 million in 2022, once restrictions were lifted. In June that year, the museum capped the number of daily admissions to 30,000 to 'facilitate a comfortable visit and ensure optimal working conditions for museum staff'. And in 2023, the museum hiked the base ticket price by 29 per cent to meet higher energy costs and fund free entry for certain visitors. The museum's infrastructure, however, continued to crumble under the overwhelming number of visitors. A leaked memo from the Louvre Director Laurence des Cars to the culture minister, in January 2025, detailed the 'very poor condition' of the centuries-old museum. In the memo, accessed by French daily Le Parisien, des Cars writes: 'Visiting the Louvre is a physical ordeal; accessing the artworks takes time and is not always easy. Visitors have no space to take a break. The food options and restroom facilities are insufficient in volume, falling below international standards. The signage needs to be completely redesigned.' des Cars warned of water leaks and temperature variations, which threaten the preservation of the museum's artworks, and also cited problems with the glass pyramid entrance, which becomes 'inhospitable' on hot days due to the greenhouse effect. Shortly afterwards, French President Emmanuel Macron promised a major overhaul of the Louvre Museum to accommodate the growing crowds. This would include a new entrance, to be opened by 2031, and a separate room for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, which alone attracts around 20,000 daily visitors. Notably, the French government is responsible for half of the Louvre's budget, including salaries of its 2,200 employees, according to an AP report. The other half is funded by ticket and in-museum sales, as well as private patrons and partners. Protests all over Europe, the world The Louvre strike was only the latest flashpoint in a weekend of coordinated anti-tourism protests across Europe. Protesters used water guns against unsuspecting tourists in the Spanish city of Barcelona. The movement began last year, when Barcelona residents began spraying visitors with water to protest against tourism, which they believe is driving up housing costs and making their city 'unlivable'. Similar protests were seen in Mallorca, a Spanish island, which saw the biggest gathering of the day as several thousand rallied for the cause. Protests also took place in Italy's Venice, Portugal's Lisbon and other European cities. Beyond Europe, overtourism has also threatened hotspots like Bali, a hot destination for its balmy beaches. Visitors have strained the local infrastructure and threatened the environment and culture of the Indonesian destination. And in Japan, the town of Fujikawaguchiko recently erected a massive black screen to block tourists from taking the perfect selfie with Mount Fuji, after years of blocked traffic and unwelcome intrusions. Even the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, has come under scrutiny over the annual climbing rush that has turned into a deadly traffic jam, with trash, human waste, and even corpses left strewn along the ascent. Overtourism in India Over 1 crore tourists visited Goa in 2024, despite a waning number of foreign visitors. While several locals rely on tourism for their livelihood, concerns have been raised about damage to the beaches and local culture under the strain of visitors. Similarly, in Ladakh, a surge in tourists, catalysed by the 2009 film 3 Idiots, parts of which were shot at the pristine Pangong Lake, has threatened its fragile ecology. Residents complain that the growing number of visitors has created a waste management crisis in the region. The picturesque hill stations of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are no different. Each summer, roads to Shimla and Manali morph into chaotic bottlenecks, lined with honking cars. The way forward Tourism has resurged across the world, which industry experts attribute to 'revenge travel' after the Covid pandemic restrictions forced many to abandon their travel plans. Several tourist hotspots have had to rethink polices to accommodate the spike in visitors. When places receive more tourists than anticipated, it can overwhelm public amenities, adversely impacting the lives of local residents and the quality of visitors' experience. Overtourism can even threaten the environment. To curb the number of visitors, Venice last year started charging a small access fee for travellers, including a higher charge for last-minute day trippers, on high-traffic days. This comes after Unesco in 2023 warned that it could put Venice on the world heritage blacklist, owing to threats from climate change and mass tourism. The ancient city of Pompeii in Rome, meanwhile, capped its daily visitors at 20,000 last year. The Greek government has a similar cap on visitors to the ancient Acropolis in Athens, including timed entry tickets. Local residents in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, frequented for its boisterous culture, protested last year against overcrowding, which they say makes navigating through the city difficult. Residents have run 'Stay Away' campaigns, targeting young British tourists. The government introduced a ban on the construction of new hotels till an existing one closes, and is mulling a plan to relocate the passenger cruise terminal away from the city centre. Several cities have also hiked the tourist tax on hotel rooms and are cracking down on illegal rental stays. Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take. ... Read More
NDTV
17-06-2025
- NDTV
Explained: Why The Louvre Has Shut Down And What The Staff Is Demanding
Louvre, an iconic museum in Paris, France, known for preserving and celebrating artistic achievements, was shut down on Monday for around four hours. It's a rare occasion as the museum has remained closed just a handful of times. What is the staff demanding? The museum closed its doors without warning because of staff protests against working conditions and over-tourism. Attendants, ticket agents and security personnel refused to work in a spontaneous protest, leaving thousands of tourists stranded and confused. The strike erupted during a routine internal meeting, with one worker reportedly calling the understaffing and overcrowding "untenable". The staff is demanding better working conditions, something that was mentioned in a memo by Louvre President Laurence des Cars when she warned that parts of the building are "no longer watertight". "Visiting the Louvre is a physical ordeal; accessing the artworks takes time and is not always easy," des Cars said in the memo leaked in January 2025. "Visitors have no space to take a break. The food options and restroom facilities are insufficient in volume, falling below international standards. The signage needs to be completely redesigned," she added. How many times Louvre Museum been shut down? The museum was shut down during wars, the COVID-19 pandemic, after government restrictions and previous strikes. In 2019, the Louvre experienced spontaneous walkouts over overcrowding and in 2013, staff strikes were held due to safety concerns. The Louvre's rich history dates back to the 12th century, and it has undergone many transformations over the centuries, but its shutdown is significant. The issue of over-tourism at the Louvre The museum boasts an impressive collection of over 615,797 objects, with 35,000 works of art on display and attracts millions of tourists every year. The museum is designed to welcome about four million visitors annually. But in 2024, nearly nine million tourists visited the Louvre, with an estimated 30,000 per day. A staff of 2,213 that covers 785,765 square feet of area has raised problems linked to crowd management. The foot traffic is bigger than what the museum can handle. There are also problems of water leaks, dangerous temperature swings and outdated infrastructure. The French government has unveiled a decade-long plan, "Louvre New Renaissance", but for this popular museum, fixes are needed urgently, as Sarah Sefian of the CGT-Culture union recently said, "We can't wait six years for help." "Our teams are under pressure now. It's not just about the art - it's about the people protecting it." The museum houses some of the notable artworks, including the Mona Lisa, a 16th-century portrait by Leonardo da Vinci. Ancient Greek statue - Venus de Milo, iconic ancient Greek sculpture - Winged Victory of Samothrace. Over-tourism also restricts people from viewing the artworks and learning about their history. "You don't see a painting," Ji-Hyun Park, 28, who flew from Seoul to Paris, told AP. "You see phones. You see elbows. You feel the heat. And then, you're pushed out." Such priceless artworks have shown endurance during difficult times like war. Especially the Mona Lisa painting that was saved during World War II thanks to the efforts of French civil servant Jacques Jaujard and his team. Mr Jaujard oversaw a secret evacuation of over 4,000 works of art from the Louvre, including the Mona Lisa, in 1939. He prevented the Nazis from tracking down the original painting, probably by using period copies of the Mona Lisa as decoys. Now, a durable remedy is needed to save the artworks for many centuries to come and also make working conditions better for the staff.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Macron visits the Louvre as reports of disrepair spur concern over the 'Mona Lisa'
It served as the background for Emmanuel Macron's 2017 presidential victory speech. On Tuesday, he returned to the Louvre to attempt some damage control after a leaked memo raised alarms about the dire state of the world's most-visited museum. Macron announced that the Mona Lisa will 'be installed in a special space, accessible independently of the rest of the museum,' which he said will be renovated and expanded in a major overhaul. Speaking in the room where Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece is displayed, Macron said a new entrance to the museum would be built near the River Seine and underground rooms would also be created. While he did not disclose the cost, it is estimated that it could run into hundreds of millions of euros. One of the ways of financing the project could be to raise prices for visitors from outside the European Union, he said. 'Another way of financing the project is to increase the number of visitors to 12 million a year,' he added. Macron visited the museum days after Le Parisien newspapers reported on a confidential memo that the Louvre's director, Laurence des Cars, sent to Culture Minister Rachida Dati. According to the newspaper, the director warned of 'a proliferation of damage to the museum's spaces, some of which are in a very poor condition.' Detailing substandard conditions like leaks and overcrowding, des Cars reportedly said in his memo that some spaces in the museum 'are no longer watertight, while others are experiencing worrying temperature variations, endangering the conservation of the artworks.' The Louvre and the Elysee Palace did not respond to requests for comment on or confirmation of the memo's contents. Over the last few days, Louvre employees have expressed similar concerns over flooding, lighting and safety that they say could put the artworks at risk. 'For our colleagues, it's a bit of a daily ordeal to get organized and keep the visitor tour moving while ensuring that everything is safe,' one employee, Elise Muller, said Tuesday on French Radio RTL. 'Since we have different areas every day, we're forced to close down areas due to the various problems that can arise in the building,' she added. On Jan. 24, the Louvre's workers' union SUD Culture, in an angry statement, said the state of disrepair led to the unprecedented cancellation of an exhibition in 2023. 'For more than three years now, SUD Culture and its staff have been warning about the deteriorating state of the building, its equipment, elevators and escalators,' it said. The museum hosted 8.7 million visitors last year as tourists flocked to the Paris Olympic Games. But in her leaked memo, des Cars warned that visiting the Louvre constituted 'a physical ordeal.' 'Access to the works takes time and is not always easy,' she said. 'There is no space for visitors to take a break.' With nearly 66% of its visitors last year lining up to see Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," des Cars also said that its presentation needed to be questioned. 'Da Vinci's masterpiece is a work of art that appeals to the whole world,' she said. 'As a result of this popularity, the public flocks to the Salle des Etats without being given the means to understand the work and the artist, thereby calling into question the museum's public service mission.' The scrutiny around the "Mona Lisa" spurred Francesca Caruso, the regional assessor for culture in Italy's Lombardy region, to call for the painting to be returned to Milan, home to da Vinci's "The Last Supper." 'We are ready to welcome her,' Caruso said in a post on Facebook over the weekend. In a separate letter to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Caruso wrote, "Why not offer to host the Mona Lisa in Lombardy during the upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics?" In 2021, des Cars became the first woman to head the Louvre, a symbol of French culture around the world. Since then, she has introduced several measures to make the museum more accessible, including a cap on visitors in 2023 to reduce overcrowding, extending opening hours, and pushing for the creation of a second main entrance. But in her memo, the director acknowledged that a complete overhaul would most likely be a long and costly ordeal at a time when the French government is facing severe budget restraints. Last week, Dati, the culture minister, told the French television network TF1 that she was working on a project to help finance the work required for the museum. If implemented in January 2026, as planned, the Louvre could charge non-E.U. visitors higher prices under a 'differentiated tariff policy.' This article was originally published on
The Independent
28-01-2025
- The Independent
British tourists to pay more to visit the Louvre, Macron announces
British tourists will have to pay more to enter the Louvre in Paris under new plans announced by French president Emmanuel Macron at the museum. Mr Macron said that non-EU visitors will pay a higher entrance fee to visit the Louvre, the world's most-visited museum, which is plagued by overcrowding and outdated facilities. Brand new underground rooms and a new entrance near the River Seine will be part of the gallery's overhaul, which is expected to take years to complete, Mr Macron said from the room where Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece is displayed. The renovation is expected to cost hundreds of millions of euros. Mr Macron did not disclose the cost Mr Macron's speech came after Louvre director Laurence des Cars recently expressed his concern regarding the 'very poor condition' of the museum's spaces, with reports of water leaks, temperature variations and other issues 'endangering the preservation of artworks'. The latest overhaul, which dates back to the 1980s when the iconic glass pyramid was unveiled, now appears outdated, Ms des Cars said in the note to culture minister Rachida Dati, seen by Le Parisien. Insulation in the building is poor, the director stressed, and the building tends to amplify noise, making it an uncomfortable space for the public and staff. There is also a notable lack of food offerings and bathrooms, she added. An official at the French presidency, who could not be named due to customary practices, said: "We're faced with a collective challenge. That is, how can we adapt the Louvre to expectations, welcome visitors from across the world in comfortable conditions and also be leading a commitment for artistic and cultural education?" Ms des Cars asked for the issue of Mona Lisa's display to be 'reassessed', proposing a relocation of the attraction to its own dedicated room. It is currently shown behind protective glass in the museum's largest room, often overcrowded with tourists looking to take a snap of the painting. Other paintings by great painters, such as Titian and Veronese, go unnoticed as a result. But Mr Macron declared that the painting would be given a new home with a dedicated entrance in the plans. Renovation work at the former royal palace is expected to be very costly and technically complicated, but the cost of proposed upgrades has not yet been laid out. Half of the Louvre's budget is financed by the French taxpayer, including the wages of the 2,200 employees. The other half is paid for by private income including ticket sales, restaurant and shop earnings, along with patrons and donors - including the United Arab Emirates' licensing of the brand name for the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum in a special deal with France. The last major renovation was designed for the Louvre to receive 4 million annual visitors - but the museum received 8.7 million visitors last year, with more than three-quarters being foreign visitors largely from the US, China and neighbouring European countries.
BBC News
28-01-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Macron to visit Louvre after alarm over
The Louvre is crumbling and needs a massive injection of state cash if it is to cope with ever-rising visitor numbers, the museum's president has des Cars issued the stark warning in a leaked letter to the government raising the alarm over power-cuts, flooding, and failing said that the famous glass pyramid – which since 1989 has housed the unique access point to the galleries – was "structurally unable to cope", and that Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, which is seen by 20,000 people every day, may have to be moved. French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken a personal interest in the museum's problems, will visit the Louvre on Wednesday amid speculation that he may announce a new investment his powers have been significantly curtailed since he lost control of parliament six months ago, and the precarious state of France's finances – with the 2025 budget still in dispute – makes any big financial commitment highly to Christian Galani of Louvre employees' trade union, "not a day goes by without some new sign of the building's decline – paint flaking, exhibition and storage rooms flooded, power-cuts, late-payments to contractors because there's no money."In November 2023 a temporary exhibition in the Sully wing had to be moved after just a few days because of a variations in temperature – from 10C in winter to 30C in summer – cause discomfort to staff and visitors, as well as posing a threat to the conservation of temperature problem is most starkly felt in the pyramid of architect Ieoh Ming Pei, which was designed to cope with four million annual visitors but today faces more than double that. Every day some 30,000 people pass through the turnstiles, making the Louvre the most visited museum in the her letter, Laurence des Cars raised the need for better toilets, cafés and rest areas. She also said that "in the view of everyone, the presentation of the Mona Lisa... is something that needs to be looked at."Around three-quarters of the museum's visitors go to see Leonardo da Vinci's painting, but the experience has become a trial, with a constant crowd being funnelled through the Salle des Etats and getting on average 50 seconds to observe the picture and take photos."The public... has no way of comprehending the artist's work, which raises questions over our whole mission of public service," Ms des Cars the options under consideration is the opening of a new entrance to the Louvre beneath the colonnades at the palace's eastern end. Currently there is a large open space here, with an empty moat that is not original but was created in the digging underground at the moat, and in the neighbouring Cour Carrée, new spaces could be created to ease congestion, improve facilities, and possibly house a re-located Mona Lisa. Another option for the painting would be to remove it from the main collection and require visitors to pay an extra Louvre received a state subsidy of €96m (£80m) in 2024. In 2023 it had receipts of €161m from tickets and events, as well as €83m from its sponsorship arrangement with the Louvre Abu more state money unlikely, the museum is looking increasingly to the corporate donors and philanthropists that raised €840m to rescue Notre Dame cathedral after the fire. Culture Minister Rachida Dati is also known to support increasing entrance fees for non-EU visitors.
