One of the most popular museums in the world has closed. The Louvre museum in Paris closed its doors on Wednesdays due to a protest over pickpockets.
More than 100 workers walked off the job on Wednesday in protest of an increase in aggressive pickpockets, according to the Guardian.
According to a statement from the Louvre, pickpocketing has becoming an increased problem. The museum tightened their cooperating with the Paris police and they placed temporary bans on those who were caught pickpocketing, but it remains a problem in the famous art museum as gangs of pickpockets have targeted museum visitors and staff members. It got so bad that the Louvre filed an official complaint to the state prosecutor since so many people fell victim to thieves.
A union official for the Louvre museum workers said the staff was being "spat at, insulted, threatened or kicked," according to the Guardian.
Last year, 10 million people visited the Louvre and the museum would have around 30,000 visitors a day during this time of year. The museum was only closed on Wednesday. The union representative said the museum will re-open on Thursday.
Being one of the most visited museums in the world, tourists were disappointed to find that it was closed on Wednesday.
One of the tourists who was turned away was Mariam Kamel, a 16-year-old student from the International School in Bellevue, Washington, who was supposed to visit the museum as part of a school trip.
"We've been cheated," Kamel told the Associated Press. Her teacher, Rhonda Eastman, said she had given specific instructions to her students to avoid being pickpocketed while in Paris.
"On the metro they no longer speak English, they don't stand together, they're snobs," Eastman said.
This isn't the first time the Louvre was closed to due protests. In 2009, workers protested against a government plan to not replace half of the workers that were retiring. There was also a strike in 2001 by workers who were upset with the working hours.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
