Disorder in Paris shut down the world's busiest and most famous museum

Disorder in Paris shut down the world's busiest and most famous museum Protesters blocked the entrances to the Louvre Museum on Monday to express their support for a nationwide high school student protest movement. Luc Auffret/Anadolu via Getty Images The Louvre, the world's busiest and best-known museum, has shut its doors as disorder sweeps Paris.The museum, home to some of the planet's most famous artworks, such as the "Mona Lisa" and the "Venus de Milo," said Monday that it had closed after protesters blocked its doors, extending the disruption beyond a weekend of demonstrations and riots across France."Dear visitors, due to student strikes the museum is currently closed. We apologize for the inconvenience," the Louvre said in a post on X. It gave no reopening time, and did not say whether it would reopen on Monday.Students from the École du Louvre led the blockade in support of a nationwide high school protest movement and to denounce what they called police repression, AFP reported, citing museum management and unions.The Louvre is visited by about 9 million people annually, making it by far the world's most visited museum.Monday's shutdown bookends a difficult year for the museum. On this exact date last year, four thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery and stole eight pieces of France's crown jewels, valued at around $100 million.The closure followed a weekend of protests over rising living costs and conditions in schools, with violence and looting in several French cities.A Paris shopkeeper whose gold-buying store was broken into told Business Insider's Nathan Rennolds that thieves had "taken everything." He also found a Nicolas wine store on Sunday, its windows smashed and shelves picked clean.Employees at a nearby boutique said they had hired extra security but closed early as the violence intensified. At least 2,400 people were arrested after the weekend unrest, according to the Associated Press.After an emergency meeting on Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he had instructed regional officials to impose limited, localized curfews.In a separate statement, President Emmanuel Macron's office said the president had ordered a review of failures in security planning and intelligence gathering. Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Georgia is a Business News Fellow at Business Insider's London office.Before joining Business Insider, she worked at Japan's largest newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, and interned at the Financial Times. She is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with a degree in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham. France Protests