"Due to a strike, the museum will not be able to open today," reads the sign posted outside the main entrance, where dozens of employees have gathered with placards and banners.
"We are angry and disappointed with how the Louvre has been managed," security guard Elise Muller told reporters at the museum's glass pyramid.
According to the CGT and CFDT unions, the strike has broad support among staff, especially from reception and security staff, but also from superintendents, researchers and documentary filmmakers in the 2,200-person workforce.
It has been almost two months since masked robbers broke into the museum and stole jewelry and jewels worth almost one billion kronor.
Union representatives say they have been warning for years about staff shortages and general decay at the respected arts institution.
A decision on whether the strike will continue will be made on Wednesday – the museum is closed on Tuesdays.
