A French museum-workers' strike widened on Thursday, forcing the closure of two of the country's most prominent attractions: the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.
French workers continued their protest against the government's plans to replace just one out of every two retiring public servants and make cuts to certain subsidies — decisions that will strongly affect organizations owned by the state, like museums, according to union leaders. The initiative is part of a larger government cost-cutting measure.
The strike began at the Pompidou Centre for modern art in late November and expanded to the Musée d'Orsay, the Rodin Museum, the Arc de Triomphe monument and other sites on Wednesday.
While the Louvre and Versailles remained partially open on Wednesday, officials said they were forced to stay closed on Thursday due to lack of staff.
Union leaders also met with French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand on Wednesday afternoon. However, the talks proved fruitless.
"The reform must be applied," Mitterand told France-2 television on Thursday.
"If we start to make exceptions, we will never get out of this," he said, referring to the budget constraints that prompted the reform.
Nevertheless, union leaders vow to continue with the labour disruption.
"We are pressing on with the strike because we did not obtain what we wanted," said Frederic Sorbier, of the CGT union, as he stood among protesters in front of the Louvre.
"When our managers and the ministers have to face demands, they deny responsibility saying 'I can't do anything, I have no leeway for manoeuvre, I must defer to the president, the president must defer to Europe, and Europe to globalization.' So there's no solution."
Frustrated crowds also milled around outside many landmarks, including the Louvre — widely considered the world's most-visited museum and drawing an average of 15,000 visitors a day.
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