PARIS — The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed to the general public on Monday when its staff took half within the wave of French protest strikes towards the federal government’s unpopular pension reform plans.

Dozens of Louvre staff blocked the doorway, prompting the museum to announce it will be quickly closed.

The demonstrators toted banners and flags in entrance of the Louvre’s famed pyramid, the place President Emmanuel Macron had celebrated his presidential victory in 2017. They demanded the repeal of the brand new pension legislation that raises the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The motion comes on the eve of one other nationwide protest deliberate for Tuesday towards the invoice — and as Macron holds a gathering with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne to debate the way in which ahead. The Louvre is all the time closed on Tuesdays, so employees protested a day earlier.

Some vacationers had been stoic in regards to the creative blockade.

“Should you firmly imagine that it will deliver some change, there’s loads of different issues that we are able to see in Paris,” mentioned Britney Tate, a 29-year-old doctoral pupil from California.

Others who had traveled hundreds of miles had been extra vocal in regards to the inconvenience.

“We’re going to respect their strike tomorrow, however to do that right now, it’s simply heartbreaking,” mentioned Karma Carden, a vacationer from Fort Myers, Florida. “We knew that Versailles wouldn’t be open due to the protest, however we knew the Louvre was open.

“I perceive why they’re upset, however to do that to individuals from all over the world who’ve traveled from all over the world for this and paid hundreds of {dollars},” she added.