“Trade unions announced their decision to extend the strike” – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Dmitry Butkevich talks about how the situation around the National Center for Art and Culture Georges Pompidou is developing.

There is a workers’ strike at the Pompidou Center in Paris. According to Western sources, a crowd of about 150 people marched to the office of French Culture Minister Rima Abdul-Malak on December 7. Protesters demanded job guarantees amid government plans close the center for renovations for five yearsstarting in 2025.

Employees went on strike in mid-October over concerns about their employment during the five-year renovation. And in November, negotiations between France’s five largest trade unions and the Ministry of Culture on this issue reached a dead end.

Despite the duration of the strike, the cultural institution was closed for only 11 days, as museum workers alternated in picketing. But when security officers protest, the Pompidou Center definitely closes.

In a sign of the expansion of the protest movement, trade unions announced their decision to extend the strike until January 15.

At the ministry’s offices, located half a mile from the Louvre, a crowd filled the lobby on December 7, chanting “Pompidou en colere!” (“Pompidou is angry”). However, no one disputes the fact that the Beaubourg building, rebuilt from a former power station back in 1977 by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, is in critical condition.

The Culture Ministry has pledged to spend around €262 million on necessary renovations, including asbestos removal, fire safety measures, and improving access and energy efficiency.

However, employees say they are being kept in the dark about exactly what the project will do for them. Workers also oppose the plans of Center Pompidou President Laurent Le Bon, who plans to “drive” the center’s collection around the world during renovations.

In this regard, I remembered that the Moscow Multimedia Art Museum closed at the beginning of 2022, apparently also for renovations. At the same time, neither the timing of its implementation nor the current fate of the personnel is known to the public.