Students blocked entrances to the Louvre in Paris on Monday, October 19, preventing the museum from opening as scheduled. The action supported nationwide high-school protests and opposed police use of force, following a weekend of violence and looting in several French cities.

Students block access to the museum

About 50 students from École du Louvre blocked the entrances, museum management told France 24. The school is a higher education institution that teaches art history and archaeology.

CGT, a trade union representing some Louvre staff, supported the action but said it did not participate directly. The union said the museum would remain completely closed to visitors at least until noon on Monday. Whether and when it reopened was not immediately known.

Museum management said the protest was not directly related to the Louvre itself. It said the students had used the building to draw international attention to their action.

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School protests broaden across France

The protests began in September over conditions in high schools across France, according to news website Novini247. The movement later expanded to include concerns about living costs and inflation.

The interior minister said 110 marches took place nationwide on Saturday, including a Paris demonstration attended by 110,000 people. Violence and looting occurred in several cities, including the capital, during the weekend protests against high living costs.

The Louvre students said their blockade backed the high-school movement and challenged the way police had used force. Their action brought the nationwide campaign to the museum, disrupting access for visitors.

Thousands taken into police custody

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said more than 2,330 people were taken into police custody over the weekend. He said adults accounted for 70% of those held.

Alain Di Crescenzo, head of the country’s chamber of commerce, estimated damage from the violence at hundreds of millions of euros. The estimate concerned damage from the violence.

The museum protest also coincided with an anniversary: Monday marked exactly one year since the theft of the Louvre’s crown jewels, according to Times Now.