The Louvre in Paris turned away thousands of tourists waiting in line to enter the museum yesterday after security staff staged a walkout. The employees are on strike to protest the museum’s handling of its exploding attendance, which exceeded 10 million people last year. This growth has resulted in “unprecedented deterioration in visiting conditions, and obviously working conditions,” according to the guards’ union. — Artnet
The beloved Louvre in Paris is one of the most visited museums in the world. With its iconic pyramid expansion designed by the late I.M. Pei it has become a must-see site. Just last year, the museum attracted 10.2 million visitors, a record-breaking attendance in the museum's history. Other than its breathtaking architectural design and fantastic art collection, the Louvre's publicity has skyrocketed thanks to various celebs who have used the museum as a backdrop for personal use.
However, with the increase in visitor numbers, foreign tourists have outnumbered local Parisian visitors making the number of museum-goers almost too much to handle. Museum staff have found difficulty in managing the crowds and have demanded an increase in visitor services staff as well as the adoption of a new cap on the number of visitors allowed to enter the museum at one time. Recently, the museum has initiated new programs to address these issues. However, Louvre employees do not see these measures solving the problem.
"It seems, however, that museum employees do not think these measures are enough to solve the real issue: unprecedented pressure on visitor services staff. In their letter, the union highlights the fact that while attendance has increased by 20 percent over the past decade, employee numbers have decreased. General staff shrunk by 7.23 percent, while security and surveillance staff decreased by 17.95 percent. The authors of the letter say that staff members are regularly insulted by frustrated visitors."
4 Comments
"The beloved Louvre in Paris, designed by the late I.M.Pei, is one of the most visited museums in the world."
Gee, and I thought it went back to the 1500s.
hey, there's no instagram that old!
I'm one of the few people who is not a big fan of the Pei pyramid. I think it f'd up the axis of the Jardin de Tuileries. And it's really unnecessary, except as a kind of modernist vanity statement.
My non-PC opinion is that Chinese tourists are both a boon and a curse. No one wants to turn them away but everyone else wants to...
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