Louvre Leak Sparks Staff Strike as Infrastructure Faults Pile Up

A water leak inside the Louvre’s Egyptian department has deepened the museum’s ongoing crisis, damaging hundreds of research volumes and triggering a staff strike set to hit days before Christmas.

The leak, caused by an accidentally opened valve in an ageing heating system, sent water through the ceiling of the Mollien wing in late November. Around 300 to 400 journals and scientific documents were soaked — key reference material used by researchers. None of the museum’s artefacts were hit. Restoration teams are drying and repairing the volumes.

The timing collapsed into an already fragile moment. Roughly 200 employees voted unanimously to stop work from Dec 15, saying the leak confirms years of warnings about infrastructure failures, understaffing and repeated gallery closures. If participation spreads across the 2,100-person workforce, the Louvre could shut during one of the busiest visitor weeks of the year.

The museum has faced escalating pressures since October’s rapid jewel heist inside the Galerie d’Apollon, when thieves disguised as workers stole crown pieces worth tens of millions in minutes. That incident exposed gaps in surveillance and forced scrutiny of security coverage across multiple wings.

Unions say the leak and the heist point to the same problem: a system strained beyond capacity. Parts of the museum already close regularly due to technical faults or limited staffing, limiting public access and crowd flow.

The Louvre is investigating the leak internally. The heating system involved had been offline for months and is scheduled for replacement in 2026.

For now, the books are drying, the staff are preparing to walk, and the museum that holds some of the world’s most protected objects is fighting failures coming from inside its own walls.

© ART Walkway 2025. All Rights Reserved.