Louvre, Orsay and other Paris museums close for Saturday’s protests
The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée de l’Orangerie, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais exhibition spaces will close on 24 October ahead of demonstrations in Paris. France’s culture ministry called for protection of visitors, employees and artworks. The announcement extends disruption beyond the previously reported closure of Fondation Louis Vuitton and the cancellation of Art Basel Paris’s weekend programme.
Arts··Evening
Major public museums suspend Saturday visits
The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée de l’Orangerie and Picasso Museum in Paris will remain closed on Saturday, 24 October, ahead of anticipated demonstrations. Exhibition spaces at the Grand Palais are also closing. The decisions suspend visits at several major cultural institutions on the same day. The newly announced museum closures extend beyond the previously reported Saturday shutdown at Fondation Louis Vuitton, another Paris arts institution.[1], [2]
France’s culture ministry said in its statement on Friday, 23 October, that institutions must protect visitors, employees and artworks. National and public museums are being urged to remain shut. ARTnews attributed its list of the Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie, Picasso Museum and Grand Palais exhibition spaces to the French newspaper Le Figaro. The ministry’s message covered both the people using and working in museums and the works kept inside them.[1]
Closures follow the curtailed Art Basel weekend
The museum announcements follow cancellation of the weekend portion of Art Basel Paris, the art fair held at the Grand Palais. Its Saturday and Sunday programme had been removed before the wider list of public-museum closures emerged. Fondation Louis Vuitton’s Saturday closure had already been reported on Thursday. The later announcement brings further institutions into the cultural shutdown, including museum galleries beyond the fair venue itself.[1]
Institutions close after the previous weekend’s unrest
The measures come after unrest during the previous weekend, which followed largely peaceful protests over social and economic inequality and the rising cost of living. Some Paris businesses began boarding their shop windows after looting. President Emmanuel Macron announced that only union-organised demonstrations would be permitted on Saturday, while partial curfews were being introduced in several cities. Marches were still expected in Paris and Marseille, although demonstrations in Lyon, Nice and Montpellier were banned on security grounds.[1]
Interior minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday that authorities would take a firm approach to rioting, looting and violence. He said officials had identified online appeals encouraging attacks on public buildings. The museum shutdowns were announced against these preparations, with the culture ministry asking institutions to keep visitors, staff and collections protected during the planned demonstrations.[1]
