Hundreds queue at Louvre museum as strike vote delays opening

"We don't know yet if we'll open. You have to come back later," security guards told visitors hoping to enter the museum. 

After the state-run institution's usual closure on Tuesday, visitors crowded the courtyard in the cold to enter the top Paris tourist site, home to iconic works like Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa".

Spanish tourist Jose Ibanez had been waiting for an hour at the head of the queue.  

"I have three days in Paris, I would love to visit the Louvre but if it's not possible I understand their demands," he said. 

The union action comes as the museum leadership faces intense scrutiny over the running of the institution after an embarrassing daylight robbery in October that saw thieves make off with jewels worth $102 million. 

The incident also highlighted discontent among the 2,200-strong workforce, with union representatives saying they have been warning for years about staff shortages and disrepair inside the former royal palace.

Around 400 employees voted unanimously to strike during a meeting on Monday, with protesting workers saying they were "angry" over management of the museum.  

Some visitors anxious to gain entry voiced disappointment but were resigned. 

"It's frustrating, right, because we've come all the way from Canada, and we've come early, you try to make sure that you're doing everything correct," said 41-year-old Jesse Henry, a mechanic visiting the French capital with wife and children. 

"But I also understand that it's a demonstration." 

adp-sw/ah/jxb