The Louvre has been the centre of a lot of attention in the last few months, from the spontaneous strikes in June to the shocking and audacious robbery of French crown jewels in October. 

The news this time is that the world’s biggest and busiest art museum, is a discriminatory price hike in the entry fee. The change, which comes into effect from Wednesday, January 14. 

The new two-tier pricing has one for Europeans and one for non-Europeans including Brits. The entry fee for non-Europeans has now rose from €17 to €22 in January 2024 to €32. 

Specifically, that applies to every traveller who’s not from the EU or Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. US travellers make up the largest proportion of visitors to the Louvre, but it also applies to UK citizens visiting the museum. 

“I want visitors from outside the EU to pay more … and for that surcharge to go towards funding the renovation of our national heritage,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati said announcing the hikes in 2024.

Trade unions at the Louvre have denounced the policy as “shocking philosophically, socially, and on a human level” and have called for strike action over the change.

They argue that the museum’s vast collection of half a million items, including many from the Middle East, Egypt, and elsewhere in Africa, hold universal human value.

Museum workers add that they are also worried for practical reasons saying they will now have to check the identity papers of all visitors.

Other state-owned French tourist hotspots are also hiking their fees, including the Versailles Palace, the national opera house in Paris, and Chambord Palace in the Loire region.

The Louvre will remain free for minors from all countries.