Staff at the Louvre in Paris staged another walkout this week, intensifying opposition to a major redevelopment plan that includes a dedicated gallery for Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and a new entrance intended to ease pressure on the museum’s main access points.
According to the Art Newspaper, the museum closed Monday morning before partially reopening at noon (local time), with visitors granted access to a limited set of high-profile works including the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, while other galleries remained closed. The strike was backed by three unions, which said 350 staff members, including curators, voted unanimously for the action.
The walkout comes amid growing controversy over the Louvre–Nouvelle Renaissance overhaul, launched by President Emmanuel Macron in January 2025, which Le Monde reports includes plans to relocate the Mona Lisa into its own purpose-built gallery within the Sully wing, linked to a dedicated shop and a new entrance on the museum’s eastern facade at the foot of the Perrault colonnade. Le Monde adds that five international teams have been shortlisted for the architecture competition, with none led by a French firm.
At the Louvre, unions are calling for director Laurence des Cars to drop what they described as an “unrealistic” $778 million project, urging the museum to prioritize long-delayed technical works and upkeep instead.
The Art Newspaper reports that des Cars’s 2026 budget sets aside $116 million for preliminary studies tied to the overhaul and $17.5 million for technical maintenance, including only $2.1 million for safety of the museum’s work.
The dispute follows a three-day walkout before Christmas and comes after an October crown jewels heist, which has heightened scrutiny of museum security and building conditions. (Late last month, the Louvre installed bars over the window used to steal the stolen jewels, many of which have yet to be recovered.) A parliamentary investigation into museum safety is expected to begin later this week, adding to pressure on Louvre leadership.
