Louvre Closed Amid Protests Against Pension Reforms

Protests of Macron’s pension reform forced the closure of the Louvre in Paris (Wikimedia).

The world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris, France, shut down on January 17 due to a protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plans.

This is the first time since the beginning of the protest movement on December 5 that the Louvre and its special fifth centenary Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition have fully closed down.

Experts believe that the move to assemble outside of the Louvre was a bid to reignite participation in the protest movement, which has been steadily losing engagement. Participation in recent protests dropped 57 percent from protests that took place on January 10.

The protesters specifically oppose the element of the reform plan that seeks to replace France’s 42 separate pension systems with a universal system. Unions worry that these pension reforms will force their workers to retire later and receive reduced pension payouts at the end of their careers.

Earlier in January, Prime Minister Edouard Phillipe offered to withdraw a section of the pension reforms that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 as a concession to protest groups and unions. 

However, the concession was received with mixed responses. While certain unions, such as the French Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT), welcomed the measure as an act of good faith and compromise, others, such as the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), called it a “smokescreen.”

The government still wishes to go ahead with the pension reforms, claiming that they would make the currently splintered and disjointed French system more unified, fair, and sustainable.

A report commissioned by Phillipe concluded that the current pension system could rack up a pension deficit of €17.2 billion ($19.07 billion) by 2025.

Critics of the reforms maintain that the proposals would force workers to accept longer careers despite reduced pension payouts.

Protests and strikes continue to take place across France despite reduced turnout. According to France 24, as of January 17, the Paris subway and trains across the country remain disrupted, and several major French businesses, such as Fnac Darty and Casino, have lost a combined total of €150 million ($166 million) in revenue due to the ongoing strikes.