Protesters block the Louvre pyramid and force closure on heist anniversary

No one got in through the pyramid at the Louvre in Paris on Monday 19 October 2026. Protesters blocked the doors at the 9 a.m. opening time and were still in place at 11 a.m.

The museum told visitors in an online notice: “Due to student strikes the museum is currently closed. We apologise for the inconvenience.” Staff could not admit the crowds that gather for the glass pyramid, the building’s main entrance. Artnet

Those at the doors waved the flag of the Confédération Générale du Travail, a French trade union federation that represents some Louvre employees. Others held signs reading “French public schools are falling apart” and “365 jours d’austérité” (“365 days of austerity”).

A leaflet attributed to the organisers and titled “Why are we blockading the Louvre museum?” said French students and workers were fighting the government and its anti-public-services politics. French media outlet Libération reported that access was blocked by students mobilised to support the high-school students’ movement. Libération

The blockade followed large marches across France on Saturday over the state of public schools and the rising cost of living. That wider protest movement began last month in high schools in Paris’s working-class northern suburbs, amid anger over teacher shortages, Reuters reported on 18 October. Reuters

The weekend brought clashes elsewhere in France. Law enforcement officials said more than 2,400 arrests were made amid incidents of property destruction and looting. President Emmanuel Macron criticised what he called “unbridled” violence on Sunday. France24 reported on Monday that a minister had admitted police had “lost control” in places, and that Macron had rejected the minister’s offer to resign. France24

Monday was also the one-year anniversary of the theft of pieces of France’s crown jewels from the Louvre. That heist involved jewels valued at €88 million, according to Euronews, and was followed by the resignation of director Laurence des Cars in February. Euronews

The timing puts two pressures in one frame. Days earlier, the Louvre’s leadership had warned the building could be forced to close without a major overhaul. The museum drew more than 9 million visitors last year, with well more than 20,000 visitors on its busiest days, so a morning shutdown affects thousands of ticket-holders.

It is not the first protest shutdown at the museum. In March 2023, trade union demonstrators opposed to Macron’s move to raise the retirement age without a final parliamentary vote blocked entry and forced the Louvre to close, Reuters reported at the time. Reuters