The Mona Lisa needed a day off. The famous painting, housed in the most-visited museum in the world, sees roughly 20,000 fans each day. Surrounded from the moment the Louvre opens until it closes, the painting’s subject holds her inscrutable smile for countless selfies, photos, group shots and portraits, while around her, masterworks are given the shoulder.
On Monday, June 16th, however, she was given an unprecedented break. After a monthly union meeting, Louvre workers, including gallery attendants, security, and ticket agents walked out, shuttering the museum that almost never rests, and relieving artworks such as the Mona Lisa of near-constant exposure. Overcrowding and poor working conditions are behind the walkout.
In January, president Emmanuel Macron announced a plan to address the issues plaguing the museum by way of a renovation. At the cost of roughly 800 million euros, the facilities will be updated, and the Mona Lisa given her own room with timed entry ticketing. But the full extent of the updates won’t be complete until 2031—six years from now. Even with higher admissions fees for non-EU residents, which may go into effect in early 2026, the museum is likely to continue to host far more visitors than its last renovation was built to handle: In 1980, when the iconic pyramid was unveiled, the updated museum was intended to manage an average of four million visitors per year. Currently, it’s seeing closer to nine million, the vast majority of which are tourists from abroad.
Monday’s strike comes on the heels of anti-tourism demonstrations in southern European cities, including Palma, Lisbon, and Venice. Overcrowding in these cities is believed to be the cause of a housing shortage, as well as a contributing factor to the destruction of the cities themselves.
At the Louvre, the daily influx of visitors, said to be about 30,000, make for “a daily test of endurance” for the staff, according to CNN. There aren’t enough bathrooms, surging crowds are hard to control, and, inside, it’s way too hot. “We can’t wait six years for help,” Sarah Sefian, a representative of the CGT-Culture union told the AP. “Our teams are under pressure now. It’s not just about the art—it’s about the people protecting it.”
The museum may open again on Wednesday (it’s always closed on Tuesdays). What the future holds for it, however, remains uncertain.
