Tourists in Paris are told to “think again” about visiting one of the French capital's most popular destinations. Rube temporarily closed on Monday (June 16) after workers refused to take the post out of dissatisfaction with what they described as “unacceptable” working conditions and chronic overtourism.
The Louvre, the world's most popular museum, closed most of Mondays when staff took a strike, annoyed by a crowd of tourists and visitors.
The museum is now reopening, but staff are threatening more strikes. This means that tourist plans can change at the last minute if they choose to visit.
At the scene was Tourguido Olivia from Paris. He shared clips of the museum's massive crowd on the Tiktock page. Visitors apparently didn't know what to do other than wait for the museum to finally open.
She wrote in the video:
Olivia then added the video caption. “Go to Louvre today? Think again! Staff at the Louvre will call an unscheduled strike during a briefing on Monday morning, June 16, 2025, complaining via unacceptable conditions and tourism.”
Also, tourist Dillon was at the Louvre, where he closed and shared a video of her experience, writing, “No one ever told me the Louvre wouldn't open.”
In the caption she revealed that she had been waiting to enter from 9am, but was believed to reopen at about 2pm on the same day. She later said in a comment:
A voluntary strike exploded during routine staff meetings as gallery attendants, ticket agents and security officials refused to take their posts in protest of unmanageable crowds, chronic shortages of staff and what they called “meaningless” working conditions.
The Independent reported that CGT Culture's union representative Sarah Sephian has revealed confusion that it was due to voluntary movements between front-family staff, including gallery attendants, receptionists and security guards.
She went on to explain that workers are protesting what they claim is worsening working conditions.
The museum welcomed 8.7 million people in 2024. Three-quarters (77%) came from outside France.
Visiting the comment section of the video, several people continued to share alternative locations for tourists to go to avoid the crowds.
One commented: “So overrated! I'll go to Musey D'Orsey instead!”
“They're really redoing books. They were there last month. It was a mess. If they had to deal with the tourist masses, they would be upset,” another said.
Meanwhile someone else shared: “Why are you standing there, and do you question the sanity of those willing to take part in this?”
When asked about the closure, the Louvre told the Express: “Because of the social movement, the Louvre remained closed yesterday morning and opened at 2:30pm.
