French museum strike
 

The Pompidou Center has been on strike all week and has been joined by some of the smaller Parisian museums.

However, today's news is saying that the situation is worsening and that there is the distinct possibility of a national museum strike starting next week.

If you are arriving in France soon, take this into consideration and plan some other things to do if the museums are closed.

Bummer! The only request my friend had was to see the Cluny and the Louvre during her visit. Hopefully it will be resolved by the folowing week, but if not I guess we'll just have to spend more time walking and enjoying the neighborhoods and stopping for refreshments :)

Thanks forthe heads-up! I was just wondering what the taxi's were up to when I stumbled on this thread...last time we had to do major travel to Montparnasse we were held up by transportation issues...not fun either.

The strike is supposed to start on Wednesday December 2nd and would affect not only all of the national museums and monuments but also the national theatres and any other place under the control of the Ministry of Culture.

The reason for the strike is because the government has announced that its decision to replace only 50% of civil servants leaving for retirement also concerns the cultural sector. If the plan is applied, museum hours will have to be shortened and large parts of many museums will no longer be open to the public.

Which museums are the national ones? All the ones listed on the rmn.fr site? I already have a number of tickets printed out for my visit next week.....

Kerouac,
Joan Grace passed your post on to me -- thanks for the heads up. I leave for Paris on Tuesday (12/1-12/8) with my two sons. We'll be meeting my daughter who will take the train from Aix-en-Provence. Sounds like the museums will be out of the question during our stay...are you seeing any glimmer of hope they will resolve their issues quickly?

graceco and all..

I just spotted this, too..

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=ahnBLCUmYzew

My experience, for whatever it is worth, is that no one knows what to expect until it happens or doesn't happen. Also, if it spreads to others who decide to join the strike, like taxis, etc.

Joan

Thanks, Joan. We'll just have to go with the flow. So glad I booked inter-shuttle for our transportation just in case the taxis follow suit...Grace

graceco,

Kerouac is always good at digging out this kind of info. It might die before getting any worse, or it may grow and others decide to join in, too.

Yes, I always feel safer with the inter-shuttle..more reliable when this kind of thing is up in the air.

I will keep watching for news, too.

Joan

It is very true that there is no way to know what will happen until the day arrives. Some strikes fizzle and others are such successes they they inspire related industries.

Frankly, I do not understand how anybody can imagine that taxis have any interest in what civil servants do in terms of their own issues.

While we are on the subject of strikes, I am curious about the situation I encountered last Friday leaving Paris, when there was a strike at the airport CDG. I was told by the airline rep that the customs workers were on strike. There was a great deal of chanting and whistling coming from the area of security. A line of gendarmerie vans was in front of the terminal (2E). Nobody could get through passport control in either direction for about an hour and a half, and lines to check in for flights were ridiculously long.

Eventually the logjam opened up and people passed through. My flight ended up leaving only an hour or so late, which was a lot better than I would have predicted an hour earlier. But nobody outside the secure area knew whether flights would wait for all the passengers to get through.

It seems an odd circumstance to have the gendarmes facing off against the customs workers inside the airport. I tried to find out what I could by googling, but came up blank.

Nikki,

You neve find out much about these things..there have been several things around the airport recently..taxi strike and blocking roads etc..these things come and go..c'est la vie!!

Joan

Thank you so much for this info. So glad I checked today. We are leaving on Dec. 4th for Paris. Back when we first made arrangements, our flight was cancelled and we had to change dates. We've said that I turned out better for us because we will now be in Paris on the 1st Sunday of the month...free admission to many of the museums. Oh well, free or nothing I guess is what we have to look forward to this time. It's our 1st time to Paris, even if it weren't, looks like there is more to do than we would even have time for. I still can't wait to get there.
I'll keep checking in with you experts on what to expect.
Thanks for keeping us updated.

Oh, I just remembered. The weekend of Dec. 4th & 5th, there is an event at the Louvre. Le Grand Tasting Le Festival des meilleurs vins Carrousel Du Louvre-Paris, December 4-5th. This is an annual event.
I wonder how it will be effected by a strike?

Kerouac and others in Paris now, please let us know what happens (or doesn't happen!) Monday. I'm especially interested in knowing whether this spills over into transportation.

Merci beaucoup!

It must be November.

The strike threat IF it happens is for Dec. 2nd, so most likely will not know anything before then.

Trnasportaion should not be affected by it, but then you never know what the 'power of suggestion' might do for some!

Joan

The Carrousel du Louvre is a private shopping mall and would not be affected by a museum strike.

This is what has been published and supposed to happen on Wed.:

"There will be staff meetings in every establishment on December 2 ... and the personnel will decide whether or not to go on strike," Kamal Hesni of the CFDT union told AFP.

"All the major establishments are concerned -- Versailles, the Louvre, the national library, the Pantheon, Notre Dame, the ramparts of Carcassonne, Mont Saint Michel," he said, adding that the Eiffel Tower would not be affected.


Joan

Yes, the Eiffel Tower is not a monument officially. It is a privately operated "curiosity" -- owned by the city of Paris and nothing to do with the Ministry of Culture. The Paris municipal museums such as the Carnavalet, the Petit Palais, the Musée de la Vie Romantique or the Palais de Tokyo should not be affected by the strike either. The added plus of the municipal museums is that they are free.

Thank you both, Joan & kerouac! I was wondering why there would be a wine festival at the Louvre. This makes much more sense. We will just have to be more flexible with our visiting options. Good thing we are coming for the Christmas lights and just the feel of the city. Unfortunately for dh, no museums means more time for shopping and sitting in bistros.