Art Basel Paris Closes Early as Protests Spread Across France

Art Basel Paris will close early. The fair's last day will end at 7pm on Friday, October 23, and it will stay shut on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25.

The fair is the Paris edition of Art Basel, the Basel-based group that runs major art fairs around the world. This year marks its fifth Paris edition. It opened earlier this week at the Grand Palais, the glass-roofed exhibition hall in central Paris, and it features more than 200 galleries, which are the dealers who show and sell art.

The change follows a wave of protests. Mass demonstrations across France turned violent last weekend, and The New York Times reported that the anti-government protests included riots and looting in several French cities. The Art Newspaper reported that more demonstrations were planned for this weekend in central Paris.

Fair management told VIP guests about the early closure in an email co-signed by director Karim Crippa. The message said that the safety of visitors, staff and exhibitors remains the top priority. Galleries and visitors who had planned to attend on the weekend will have to adjust, and the final hours of the fair on Friday are now the last chance to see the works on show.

The Louis Vuitton Foundation, the private art museum in Paris's Bois de Boulogne park, will also be closed on Saturday, October 24. ARTnews reported the museum's closure alongside the fair's.

For anyone planning a trip to Paris this week, the practical picture is simple. The fair's doors close for the weekend after Friday evening, and the Paris museum's closure runs through Saturday. Anyone who wants to see the fair should plan to go on Thursday or Friday, before the 7pm close.