Louvre museum closed in support of strike against welfare reform

The Louvre Museumin Pariswas closed on Friday, 17, because of the accession of its employees to the general strike against welfare reform advocated by French President Emmanuel Macron. Tourists were prevented from entering the building, while more workers blocked their entrance.

"It is at the heart of the Pyramid of the Louvre, where the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, decided to celebrate his election, that an opposition trade union front opposes him and his disastrous guidance on retirement," unions said in a joint statement. culture.

Many visitors were honoring a special exhibition by Leonardo da Vinci,inaugurated last October on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Italian artist's death, but failed to enter the site. Louvre workers and other striker civil servants were booed by some frustrated tourists in the waiting line, but others have shown support for the shutdown against Macron's proposed Pension reform plans.

"While the conditions of the Louvre Museum team are deteriorating every day, mainly due to the loss of staff, precariousness and dismemberment of the State, there is no way to adhere to the pension system by points proposed by the government, which aims to only reduce the amount of pensions for all," the statement continues.

The museum said tickets for the day will be fully refunded. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, having received 9.6 million people last year, slightly below the 2018 record (10.2 million).

Since the government withdrew the rising minimum retirement age after a massive demonstration in the country that has taken nearly 150,000 people to the streets, the movement has lost some of its strength. But the stoppage continues for the 44th day in a row.

Much of France has been affected by a transport strike that began a month and a half ago. Truckers, teachers, lawyers and physicians, among others, demand the total withdrawal of the project, which provides for the merger of the current 42 pension schemes, organized by professions, and the establishment of a new calculation system, unique and exclusive by points.

In recent weeks, the Macron government has made a series of concessions to police and military personnel, as well as pilots and air traffic controllers, allowing them to continue retiring early. However, the French president emphasized that the project is necessary. "Either we discount more or assume that we should work a little harder," he said.