PARIS — Tourists take note: if you're planning to spend the holidays in France this year, you'll want to make sure your favorite museums are actually open before spending on Metro fare to reach your cultural destination.
Workers at many of the top museums in Paris were on strike this week, prompting numerous closures - at least periodically. Throughout the week, visitors arrived at major art institutions like the Louvre museum and Musee d'Orsay, only to find picketing workers and locked doors covered with posters reading "grève" ("strike"). But to avoid angering the public even more, most museums were open today to honor their usual offer of free admission on the first Sunday of every month. The Pompidou Center was the exception, remaining closed for the fourteenth day in a row.
Workers at many of the top museums in Paris were on strike this week, prompting numerous closures - at least periodically. Throughout the week, visitors arrived at major art institutions like the Louvre museum and Musee d'Orsay, only to find picketing workers and locked doors covered with posters reading "grève" ("strike"). But to avoid angering the public even more, most museums were open today to honor their usual offer of free admission on the first Sunday of every month. The Pompidou Center was the exception, remaining closed for the fourteenth day in a row.
The strikes were initiated by unions representing culture ministry workers protesting government plans to trim the civil service by replacing only half of all retiring employees. France's Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand has refused to back down, making closures likely to resume next week.
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Read More - Most Paris Museums Open, Strikers Consider Options | Reuters
[Photo: Visitors at the Pompidou Center find the doors locked due to a strike. Courtesy Charles Platiau/Reuters.]
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