Tres disappointing...

Pardon Madames et Monsieurs. A trip to Paris is obviously an exciting and romantic thing to do. However a trip to Paris would not be complete without a visit to The Louvre, perhaps the most famous museum in the world.

 

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Famous for the Mona Lisa, and some would say the final resting place of The Holy Grail, the Louvre is a must see attraction upon visiting the French capital. It is of course extremely busy and I am always amazed at the numbers that follow the cheap laminated signs to see the disappointedly small portrait of the woman with a enigmatic smile to be faced by a group of tourists snapping away with their digital cameras or appreciating the Da Vinci's masterpiece through the screen of their smart phone.

However, anyone visiting Paris today would have been sadly disappointed that the museum with the big glass pointy pyramid was closed. The staff of the museum were on strike. They are protesting about the increasingly more common incidents of pick-pocketing occurring inside the museum. These pick pockets are working in more and more organised gangs and are employing children reminiscent of Dickens' Oliver Twist to undertake the dirty deeds.

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The staff as well as the visitors are being targeted and the robberies are becoming more violent and devious. Some staff are reported to be afraid. So today over 100 staff walked out and refused to return to work resulting in the museum closing for the day. This action has stirred the policy makers to start making decisions about the best way to deal with these young criminals.

If I you though I wouldn't plan to visit too soon. Who knows how long this 'strike' will go on

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