The Louvre, the most visited museum in the world and a worldwide symbol of beauty, elegance, and stamina, remained closed on Monday due to staff cuts, who claim the structure is crumbling from within. Not because of war, not because of despair. The people tasked with welcoming the earth to its halls paralysed the works of Leonardo da Vinci and millennia of the greatest treasures of civilization. And still, the time was more significant than a labor protest. The Louvre has become a harbinger of international overtourism, a decorated house ruined by its own reputation. The world’s most recognizable gallery is making a name for itself as tourist magnet from Venice to the Acropolis struggle to keep up the crowds. In protest of overwhelming crowds, chronic staffing, and what one union described as “untenable” working conditions, gallery attendants, ticket agents, and security personnel resisted taking up their posts during a regular meeting. One of the thousands of visitors entangled into unmoving lines beneath IM Pei’s glass pyramid, Kevin Ward, 62, from Milwaukee, said,” It’s the Mona Lisa moan out here.” The disturbance comes just weeks after President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a ten-year plan to save the Louvre from the exact issues that are now boiling over: liquid spills, risky heat moves, outdated equipment, and foot traffic that is far beyond the museum’s capacity. But that promised future seems far off for employees. Our teams are currently under stress. It’s not just about the arts; it’s about the people who are protecting it, according to Sarah Sefian of the CGT-Culture union. The Mona Lisa, a 16th-century portrait that draws audiences more tantamount to a brand meet-and-greet than an art experience, is at the center of it all, as often. Every day, about 20 000 persons converge on the museum’s largest chamber, the Salle des Etats, to pose for a selfie with Leonardo da Vinci’s mysterious girl behind protective glass. The” Louvre New Renaissance” renovation blueprint by Macron offers a solution. The Mona Lisa will have access to a special place with a timed-entry solution. By 2031, a new entry to the Seine River is planned to reduce stress from the swollen pyramid gateway. The crowds who flock to France’s greatest cultural gold remain tucked between the cracks until finally, with the exception of the French government’s.
