A Massive Strike in France Shutters Paris Museums—and Could Disrupt Business-as-Usual Through the Weekend

Yesterday’s strikes in
France—with trade unions in the country estimated that 1.5 million
people participated—carried over to today, in a standoff over the
French government’s determination to overhaul the country’s complex
pension system.

The protests are reminiscent of
the gilets
jaunes (yellow vests)
movement—named for the safety vests used by manual laborers—that
erupted in 2018 over income inequality and a proposed gas tax
increase that would disproportionately affect working-class
families.

Thursday’s strikes hamstrung the
country, shutting down much of the Metro, as well as hampering
domestic flights and Eurostar travel. The strikes were led by
public sector workers, who stand to lose the most from the pension
reform, with many trade unions calling for the protests to
continue.

Paris has many national museums,
and most of those museums had full or partial closures on Thursday.
With protests set to continue, museums today either had amended
hours or were only partially open. 

The Louvre closed much of their
permanent collection, though access to its blockbuster Leonardo da
Vinci exhibition remained. “The museum is open today, Friday 6
December,” the Louvre tweeted today. “Due to public transport
strikes, some exhibition rooms will remain closed. Visitors with
time slot bookings will be able to access the #ExpoLéonard.”

The Grand Palais, the Musée de
l’Orangerie, the Musée d’Orsay, the Petit Palais, and the Delacroix
Museum, among others, took a similar approach, leaving temporary
exhibitions open, with some museums closing early on
Friday.

“Due to the national strike, the
Musée d’Orsay is partially open today, Friday 6 December,” the
Musée d’Orsay tweeted. “Only the ground floor nave and the
exhibition #DegasOpera” are accessible. Please accept our apology for
the inconvenience.”

The Musée d’Orsay went a step
further, acknowledging that normal operations might be “disrupted”
through the weekend.

 Palais de Tokyo also nodded to the uncertainty,
tweeting, “Due to the strike action, the Palais de Tokyo will be
exceptionally open from 12h to 19h, Friday 06 December 2019. This
decision will be re-evaluated the following days depending on the
evolution of the situation.”

Museums around the country were
closed or partially closed on Thursday, but many had re-opened by
Friday, including the Palace of Versailles

Labor unions called for a larger
strike to take place on Tuesday, and the government shows no signs
of backing down. Édouard Philippe, France’s prime minister, said in
a televised address on Friday that citizens would have to work “a
little longer,” referring to a proposed raising of the retirement
age from 62 to 65. President Emmanuel Macron’s government wants to
streamline the county’s current 42 different pension schemes into a
single points-based system that will apply to every worker in both
the public and private sectors. France is considered to have one of
the best retirement plans in the world, but the system faces
deficits in the coming years.

The post A Massive Strike in France Shutters Paris
Museums—and Could Disrupt Business-as-Usual Through the Weekend
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