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

[appalachiablue]

"'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

[msongs]

1. skip paris and head for provinces and provincial towns. few tourists, small crowds nt

[appalachiablue]

3. Gave up on very large popular museums some yrs. ago. Still

like the D'Orsay, the Rodin, Picasso in Paris, and collections in smaller cities and places. For years I've seen and worked in quite a few of them in large cities to community museums in art and history.

[sprinkleeninow]

2. Were there in the mid 70's. September. It was quite civil. None of this.

Mb it was the month? Mb the year.

Awesome experience!

[appalachiablue]

4. Over the years I've been several times and never saw it this bad.

They have to remedy this. Not a fan of underground museums.

[sprinkleeninow]

18. It's saddening. So many once outstanding cultural and historical

places are experiencing old age, disrepair, crass people.

Hmm, our country? 🤔 😢

[MFM008]

5. Another fire

Waiting to happen?

[appalachiablue]

7. Let's hope not, that would be just awful.

[elleng]

6. Very sorry to see this.

Coincidentally, 2 friends just ended their visits to Paris; I didn't hear about this sort of thing. Guess they selected other museums than the Louvre.

[appalachiablue]

8. Only in the last 10-15 years have I heard it was like this. Since

the 1970s I've visited several times, last in 1997, bypassed it in 2004. This is so bad, they have to remedy this soon.

Musee d'Orsay in Paris is great in the renovated grand train station with its 19th c. art collection. And the Rodin Museum, more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_d%27Orsay

Musee d'Orsay, Paris; Renior's 'Bal du Moulin de la Galette' 1876, Impressionist painting.

[elleng]

9. Visited D'Orsay maybe 2000, AND Rodin more recently.

[appalachiablue]

11. That's great, I love smaller museums the older I get!

[elleng]

13. Ditto!

[BigmanPigman]

10. The Musee de l'Orangerie in Paris

shouldn't be missed either.

I went to the Louvre in 1997 and everybody was crowded around the Mona Lisa and skipped all the other art work...too bad. I worked at the art museum in my city and people too often go to see the "famous" art and they miss so much that way.

[appalachiablue]

12. Yes it's so important, haven't seen it since the 1970s. Rose Valland

the curator and French Resistance member labelled and helped rescue artwork for the Allies/Monuments Men at the nearby Jeu de Paume Galerie, the 'Nazi Sorting House' during the Nazi regime.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Valland



Rose Valland, French art historian & Resistance member who helped save artwork for the Monuments Men during the Nazi regime.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerie_nationale_du_Jeu_de_Paume

[elleng]

14. Oh YES!

[appalachiablue]

16. True, people often rush to see the famous works overlooking

many other fine artworks. What museum did you work at? And you lived in Nice, cool I saw the post. Was there only one day en route from Paris to Cannes. Wish I'd had more time to see the beautiful sites of Nice. Next life, ha!

[madaboutharry]

15. They need to restrict the number of visitors they allow

for each day and sell only a set amount of tickets.

They number of people who come each day can be controlled. They can solve this problem if they really want to.

[appalachiablue]

17. It all depends on their policy and yes they can do all that for sure.

Many historic properties must limit use according to preservation guidelines, and common sense.

This is too much, on the building, the people and the artworks.

[sinkingfeeling]

19. We visited the Louvre in the evening in late Dec. 2016. It was

almost empty.