Protests in France over the raising of the retirement age continued on Monday as the cultural sector went on strike outside the Louvre museum in Paris. The museum was closed, and protesters held up placards that read, among other things, "Retire at 60 – work less and live longer".
Several museum workers took part in the protests, which annoyed some tourists on the ground.
"We hope you understand the reason for this," a protesting museum guide said, according to Reuters.
More demos
On Tuesday, national protests and demonstrations are expected across France against President Emmanuel Macron's decision to push through a bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, without support on the issue from parliament.
Due to the fact that the Louvre is always closed on Tuesdays, the museum workers chose to bring their demonstration forward to Monday. The demonstration went smoothly, according to the media on site, and everyone who bought a ticket was offered their money back.
Meanwhile, police in Paris said they were prepared to call off any unauthorized protests outside the Centre Pompidou museum. There will be no such events on Monday.
Annoyed tourists
But the demonstration provoked mixed reactions among tourists on site who wanted to visit the popular museum. Britney Tate of California was on the side of the protesters.
"If you really think this is going to create change, then there are a lot of other things we can look at in Paris," she told the AP.
Karma Carden of Florida, on the other hand, disagreed.
"We will respect their strike tomorrow, but to do this today is absolutely heartbreaking. We knew Versaille wouldn't stay open because of the demonstrations, but we thought the Louvre would be open," she told the AP, continuing:
"I understand that they are upset, but it is foolish to do this to people from all corners of the world who have travelled here and paid thousands of dollars.