Mona Lisa off limits as Paris shuts museums over protest fears

[PARIS] Disappointed tourists poked their heads through the Louvre’s locked gates on Saturday (Oct 24), shut off from the Mona Lisa as galleries and museums across Paris closed as a precaution ahead of fresh demonstrations.

“When we came, we thought there could be a problem but not that the museum would be closed,” Italian social educator Selena Bertoni, 31, said in front of the Musée d’Orsay.

On a four-day trip to Paris she had paid 50 euros (US$56) for two tickets to see its Impressionist paintings and other masterpieces. “Bad timing,” she said, with a shrug.

The closures came one week after nationwide demonstrations over the cost of living and deteriorating public services descended into some of the worst street violence that France has seen in years.

The violence and damage prompted the government to impose localised curfews and close many public venues ahead of demonstrations planned on Saturday.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched in France on Saturday, with largely peaceful rallies giving way to clashes in Paris and Marseille as night fell despite a huge security operation aimed at preventing a repeat of last week’s unrest.

The shutdown extended across much of the capital’s cultural sector, including the Orangerie, Jeu de Paume and Picasso museums, while the entire Tuileries Gardens complex that leads out of the Louvre was sealed off.

“This is the third museum we have come to that is closed. They should’ve warned us,” French visitor Heidi Rosar, 21, said.

At the Louvre, the locked black iron gates blocked access to the entire site and the garden.

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“We wanted to at least see the pyramid,” 67-year-old Canadian Don Nowschuk said, referring to the museum’s landmark glass entrance.

On a two-night stay in the City of Light, Nowschuk suggested the local authorities might be overreacting.

“There is so much security that you would think it would be enough to secure the museum,” he said. “It’s a bit weird to see so many cops with guns around Paris. We are used to guns but not like this.”

The disruption extended to the performing arts sector. The Paris Opera shuttered both the Palais Garnier and the Opéra Bastille, citing safety concerns for staff and audiences.

Organisers of the prestigious Art Basel Paris fair also cancelled its weekend programme.

The cultural centres posted warnings about the closures on Friday, but some people never thought to check.

“How could we have known? We didn’t think a museum could be closed. We are a bit naive,” 59-year-old French woman Catherine Sebbagh said. REUTERS