STRIKE! Museums in Paris Seek to Impose Change Through Strike

The Centre Pompidou, located in Paris and one of the world’s most visited modern art museums, second only to the Louvre in terms of popularity amongst tourists, has been on strike this week. The staff of the museum, which sees an average of 5.5 million visitors a year, has been on strike since November 24. Museum workers decided to “faire la grève” after they were told the government was only going to replace one out of every two retiring civil servants. On top of this hiatus in museum activity at the Centre, the museum workers’ union threatens to strengthen the strike if certain needs are not met—in other words, if the government does not satiate their demands and reverse its decision. Nicholas Sarkozy, the current French president, ran on a platform of reducing governmental debt by enacting money-saving plans such as this one. To make matters worse, the ministry of culture refuses to respond any questions, leaving everyone in the dark. Due to a communicative impasse, the unions are threatening to expand their strike to the Louvre and other major museums. The staff at the museum of decorative arts are also striking this week. “If we don’t get some response from the ministry, we risk heading toward a total shutdown of French museums,” Roger Martinez, a union representative at Force Ouvriere, said.