PARIS: Louvre Museum Suffocating From Long Lines, Record Crowds, Staff Strike, Deterioration

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"'The Louvre Is Suffocating': Museum Closed As Workers Strike, Citing Overcrowding." NPR, May 28, 2019.

The Louvre was shuttered on Monday, leaving hordes of tourists outside amid its famous glass pyramids. The reason? The Paris museum's security and reception staff were on strike, protesting "unprecedented deterioration of conditions" amid record crowds. The museum, located in a former royal palace on the city's Right Bank, attracted a record 10.2 million visitors last year – a 25% increase over the year before. "No other museum in the world has ever equaled this figure," the museum trumpeted in January.

But workers say both visitors and staff are suffering from such massive popularity. "The Louvre is suffocating," the Sud Culture Solidaires Union said in a statement Sunday. "While the public has increased by more than 20% since 2009, the palace has not grown. ... Today the situation is untenable."



- The Louvre was closed on Monday as security and reception staff went on strike over what they say are deteriorating working conditions as the museum draws record crowds. Here, visitors queue outside the Louvre in July 2015.



The union cites several problems it says are caused by overcrowded conditions at the museum: an aggressive and impatient public, jostling crowds and inadequate emergency evacuation measures. "What to say about visiting conditions when people are confronted with noise, trampling, crowds, extreme fatigue and the total inadequacy of museum facilities at such a high volume of visitors?" the union said in the statement...

More, https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727592823/the-louvre-is-suffocating-museum-closed-as-workers-strike-citing-overcrowding