Massive queues slowly snake their way to The Louvre in the blistering summer heat (AP)It may only have been for a day, but the employees' strike at The Louvre in Paris underscores the severe impact that overtourism has on even the world's biggest attractions.
To backtrack: on 16th June, the entire staff at the famed museum walked out of their jobs, much to the consternation of tourists and officials, in a wildcat strike against a double-whammy of overtourism and deteriorating working conditions.
The strike came a day after protesters throughout Southern Europe made their way to the streets to demand government action against the increasingly adverse effects of overtourism on local communities and their standard of living.
In a report by the Associated Press that has since been syndicated globally, the mass walkout began following dissent during a routine staff assembly as the workday began on 16th June.
As a result, regardless of the fact that crowds of tourists were already milling about outside in the heat of the noonday sun, The Louvre remained closed until 2:30 in the afternoon; even then, the number of those allowed inside were strictly limited.
Christian Galani, a spokesperson for French labour union CGT-Culture whose members include employees at The Louvre, declared: “We didn’t plan to go on strike, but the people are so exhausted, they can’t support the conditions getting worse and worse.”
It's all too much
Per reports, Louvre staff gathered for their monthly assembly at around 10 in the morning local time on the 16th, but people walked out instead of returning to their posts.
The surprising tipping point that drove them to a mass walkout: the increasingly obvious issue of overcrowding around the museum's most famous artifact on display, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
Approximately, 20,000 people come to see the world's most famous smile six days a week, jamming themselves into Le Salle des États, The Louvre's largest hall.
But rather than silently appreciating the work of a Renaissance master, visitors to the Mona Lisa behave as if they were at a theme park: voices calling to one another loudly, jostling and jockeying to get the best angle for a snapshot, selfies left and right, and essentially posing the danger of physical damage to both artwork on display and fellow museum visitors.
Museum officials have long pointed out that people only come to the museum for the Mona Lisa, to the exclusion of other great works of art and momentous archaeological finds; it's a matter that has been both overwhelming, exhausting, and worrying as massive crowds alter the temperature of display halls, potentially endangering precious artefacts of human history.
While the French government has been assuring museum officials and staff of their support by way of a ten-year redevelopment plan, those on the frontlines demand immediate action to address ongoing problems.
According to one of the museum's visitor service agents Sarah Sefian: “We can’t wait six years for help. Our teams are under pressure now. It’s not just about the art: it’s about the people protecting it.”
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the upcoming general refurbishment and organisational restructuring of The Louvre in January of this year, but insiders pointed out that no action has been taken since the announcement.
CGT-Culture's Galani explained that one key point of détente was the fact that over 200 positions have been vacated over the past 15 years, and that staff feel ill-equipped to deal with the massive crowds who have surged in following the relaxing of pandemic restrictions since 2023.
Galani said: "Nothing has changed; there are still too many visitors, and the rooms are in very bad condition. It’s very difficult for the workers.”
Why overtourism is bad for museums
Most travellers tend to forget one fundamental thing: crowds will raise the ambient temperature of an area, especially if it is an enclosed space like that of a museum gallery.
There is a reason why climate control is necessary in museums and art galleries: if presented in areas that are either too hot or too cold, the structural integrity of pieces, especially those over several decades or even centuries old.
The same thing goes for architectural finds regardless of whether these are fragments of ancient manuscripts or preserved human remains as in the case of either Egyptian or Peruvian mummies: display areas are kept at a certain temperature and the number of people who may gain access to them at any given time are strictly limited.
In addition, overtourism is equal to overcrowding which, in turn, leads to a diminished experience for many museum-goers whose enjoyment and appreciation of art is ruined by influencers noisily doing livestreams or tourists elbowing others out to get the perfect selfie.
At the same time, overtourism has resulted in increased maintenance costs as crowds wear on historic infrastructure, and there is an ever-present danger of vandalism as seen in the behaviour of younger travellers over the past several years.
Protecting artwork against vandalism has also taken a toll on museum security and curatorial staff in light of the way radicals from the group Just Stop Oil have been actively destroying priceless works of art, and the way ill-educated tourists have tried to put a personal stamp on destinations by carving marks into statues and structures.
While the French government continues to give assurance that corrective measures will be taken, museum staff are taking it with a grain of salt; but The Louvre strike which closed the doors of the world's foremost museum to the public should be seen as a cautionary tale to their peers in the cultural management sector with regard to how badly overtourism may affect them in the long run.
