91视频

PARIS 鈥� The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and a global symbol of art, beauty and endurance, has withstood war, terror, and pandemic 鈥� but on Monday, it was brought to a halt by its own striking staff, who say the institution is crumbling under聽the weight of mass tourism.

It was an almost unthinkable sight: the home to works by Leonardo da Vinci and millennia of civilization’s greatest treasures 鈥� paralyzed by the very people tasked with welcoming the world to its galleries.

Thousands of stranded and confused visitors, tickets in hand, were corralled into unmoving lines by I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid.

鈥淚t’s the聽Mona Lisa聽moan out here,鈥� said Kevin Ward, 62, from Milwaukee. 鈥淭housands of people waiting, no communication, no explanation. I guess even she needs a day off.鈥�

The Louvre, visited by several million people each year, has become a symbol of tourism pushed to its limits. Just a day earlier, coordinated聽anti-tourism protests swept across southern Europe. Thousands rallied in Mallorca, Venice, Lisbon and beyond, denouncing an economic model they say displaces locals and erodes city life. In Barcelona, activists sprayed tourists with water pistols 鈥� a theatrical bid to 鈥渃ool down鈥� runaway tourism.

The spontaneous strike at the Louvre erupted during a routine internal meeting, as gallery attendants, ticket agents and security personnel refused to take up their posts in protest over unmanageable crowds, chronic understaffing and what one union called 鈥渦ntenable鈥� working conditions.

It’s rare for the Louvre to close its doors. It has happened during war, during the pandemic, and in a handful of strikes 鈥� including spontaneous walkouts over overcrowding in 2019 and safety fears in 2013. But it seldom has happened so suddenly, without warning, and in full view of crowds.

What’s more, the disruption comes just months after President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a sweeping, decade-long聽plan to rescue the Louvre聽from precisely the problems now boiling over 鈥� water leaks, dangerous temperature swings, outdated infrastructure, and foot traffic far beyond what the museum can handle.

But for workers on the ground, that promised future feels distant.

鈥淲e can’t wait six years for help,鈥� said Sarah Sefian, a front-of-house gallery attendant and visitor services agent. 鈥淥ur teams are under pressure now. It’s not just about the art 鈥� it’s about the people protecting it.鈥�

At the center of it all is the聽Mona Lisa聽鈥� a 16th-century portrait that draws modern-day crowds more akin to a celebrity meet-and-greet than an art experience.

Each day roughly 20,000 people squeeze into the Salle des 脡tats, the museum’s largest room, just to snap a selfie with Leonardo da Vinci’s enigmatic woman behind protective glass. The scene is often noisy, jostling, and so dense that many people barely glance at the masterpieces flanking her 鈥� works by Titian and Paolo Veronese that go largely ignored.

鈥淵ou don’t see a painting,鈥� said Ji-Hyun Park, 28, who flew from Seoul to Paris. 鈥淵ou see phones. You see elbows. You feel heat. And then, you’re pushed out.鈥�

Macron’s renovation blueprint, dubbed the 鈥�Louvre New Renaissance,鈥� promises a remedy. The Mona Lisa will finally get her own dedicated room, accessible through a timed-entry ticket. A new entrance near the Seine River is also planned by 2031 to relieve pressure from the overwhelmed pyramid hub.

鈥淐onditions of display, explanation and presentation will be up to what the Mona Lisa deserves,鈥� Macron said in January.

But Louvre workers call Macron hypocritical and say the proposed $730 million to $834 million renovation masks a deeper crisis. While Macron is investing in new entrances and exhibition space, the Louvre’s annual operating subsidies from the French state have shrunk by more than 20 percent over the past decade 鈥� even as visitor numbers have soared.

鈥淲e take it very badly that Monsieur Le President makes his speeches here in our museum,鈥� Sefian said, 鈥渂ut when you scratch the surface, the financial investment of the state is getting worse with each passing year.鈥�

The Louvre welcomed 8.7 million visitors last year 鈥� more than double what its infrastructure was designed to accommodate. Even with a daily cap of 30,000, staff say the experience has become a daily test of endurance, with too few rest areas, limited bathrooms, and summer heat magnified by the pyramid’s greenhouse effect.

In a leaked memo, Louvre President Laurence des Cars warned that parts of the building are 鈥渘o longer watertight,鈥� that temperature fluctuations endanger priceless art, and that even basic visitor needs 鈥� food, restrooms, signage 鈥� fall far below international standards.

鈥淲hat began as a scheduled monthly information session turned into a mass expression of exasperation,鈥� Sefian said. Talks between workers and management began at 10:30 a.m. and continued into the afternoon.

The full renovation plan is expected to be financed through ticket revenues, private donations, state funds, and licensing fees from the Louvre’s Abu Dhabi branch. Ticket prices for non-EU tourists are expected to rise later this year.

But workers say their needs are more urgent than any 10-year plan.

Unlike other major sites in Paris, such as聽Notre Dame cathedral聽or the Centre Pompidou museum, both of which are undergoing government-backed restorations, the Louvre remains stuck in limbo 鈥� neither fully funded nor fully functional.

President Macron, who delivered his 2017 election victory speech at the Louvre and showcased it during the聽2024 Paris Olympics, has promised a safer, more modern museum by the end of the decade.

Until then, France’s greatest cultural treasure 鈥� and the millions who flock to see it 鈥� remain caught between the cracks.

Editor’s note: Associated Press journalist Laurie Kellman in Paris contributed to this report.