28 spring-summer 2020/HesaMag #21 Special report 17/35 The invisible museum workers Museum and gallery visitors may be too focused on the works of art and items on display to take much notice of the almost invisible work of the reception and warding staff, but without them these exhibits would be inaccessible. HesaMag visited one of the most famous galleries in the world, the Louvre, to meet some of the people who keep it running day to day. Fanny Kroener Journalist Photo reportage: Sadak Souici, Agence Le Pictorium See the full photo reportage at www.etui.org Designed by the American architect Leoh Ming Pei, the Louvre Pyramid, unveiled in 1989, very quickly became one of the most striking landmarks in the Parisian landscape. 29 spring-summer 2020/HesaMag #21 Special report 18/35 A floor space of 360 000 square metres, slightly bewildered visitors and point them 650 000 works of art in the collections, one in the right direction. It’s a proactive job, not "The museum’s huge visitor every two seconds: the Louvre breaks like people think." all the records for museums and galleries. It Servane, with her friendly, impish face, visitor numbers make is both the "biggest museum in the world" is dressed in the uniform provided by the mu- and the "most visited", exceeding the sym- seum: a black suit and white shirt. "The thing it tiring for us." bolic threshold of 10 million visitors in 2018. people really notice is the security badge with By comparison, in the same year, 5.8 mil- the orange lanyard. All the staff wear these lion people visited the British Museum in around their necks. Well, in Comms it’s blue, 1. These workers’ 2. The SMIC is the London. Such success poses a challenge for it’s less conspicuous," she says, indicating her representative bodies took minimum wage. In the 1 200 reception and warding staff of the colleague’s badge. "In other museums, staff a blow from the Macron January 2020, this was Musée du Louvre, whose daily role is to keep can wear whatever they like, but in the Lou- Government in 2017. Now, 1 539,42 euros gross. only companies with more this constant stream of visiting culture vul- vre there’s a real need for a uniform." than 300 workers have to tures happy. This cheerful young woman has been form committees, and their working in visitor services in the Louvre since powers have been curtailed 2003. She recalls the time she spent in charge compared with the former A constant state of emergency of ticketing, located in the central island be- CHSCTs. low the Pyramid. "It was there!" she exclaims, No one in the museum’s management or at pointing to a circular arrangement of paving the Ministry of Culture ever foresaw this lev- slabs. "A dozen ticket desk staff penned in at difficult to travel." A few metres away, we can el of popularity. "In 1989, the year when the the mercy of the visitors. There was constant see the pickets of the Louvre strikers, protest- Pyramid opened, the Louvre’s visitor num- noise. Often, at the end of the day, I couldn’t ing against pension reform. bers were between two and three million, go out with my friends, I needed some peace and the most optimistic forecasts at the time and quiet." were expecting a peak of five million visitors," The arduous nature of this job was No day is the same the Head of Communication tells me. Today, recognised by the museum, which has since 10 million admissions are taxing the muse- refurbished the area with the aim of looking Like all the representatives of the inter-un- um’s infrastructure and its staff as well. after its expert reception staff. Attractive on ion association at the general meeting that At the foot of the Pyramid, we meet the paper, the central island disappeared in 2017, morning, Gary is sporting a Christmas Assistant Director of Visitor Services, 35-year- and the information and ticket counters were jumper with large, brightly coloured motifs. old Servane. Despite the cold, there is an im- shifted to soundproofed recesses at the side. Despite his outfit, the CGT (General Confed- pressive influx of visitors. It is 8.45 a.m., and "The museum’s huge visitor numbers eration of Labour) union representative and the Cour Carrée is already teeming with people. make it tiring for us." Since the refurbishment, secretary of the Health, Safety and Working The Pyramid, an international icon and a rest area has been provided exclusively for Conditions Committee (Comité d’hygiène, symbol of the Louvre, is also the museum’s visitor service staff, accessible through a hid- de sécurité et des conditions de travail, main entrance. Security staff in orange high- den door under the Pyramid. There is a sub- CHSCT),1 with his long hair in a ponytail, ex- vis jackets are directing visitors to the right dued atmosphere and fittingly hushed voic- udes charisma. We meet him in the Louvre queue, with or without pre-booked tickets, for es in this room decorated in muted colours, union office next to the management offices the permanent collections or temporary exhi- which has individual rest booths, 10 or so in the Pavillon Mollien. bitions, individual visitors and group recep- curved recesses where you can lie down. "Just "Normally it’s a 45-minute trip for me tion. It is a real feat of organisation to prevent the thing to get away from the constant hustle to get to the Louvre. And I’ve been doing this overcrowding in this glass-encased space. and bustle of the museum," whispers Servane. journey for 17 years." When he is not on the Servane confidently guides us towards There’s no time to linger. It is 8.55 a.m., CHSCT or at a board meeting, Gary, 43 years the escalators that take us down below the time for the last team briefing at the foot of old, is a visitor service officer and warder in the horizon. "Some visitors find this change of the pillar of the great Pyramid before the Richelieu Wing. "The Louvre is in the centre of level disorientating. We need to understand museum opens to the public. "They give out the city, but most of us live on the outskirts. At that, for some of them, it’s their first and may- operational information: which rooms are the start of their career, staff earn the SMIC 2 be even their only visit to a museum. The vis- closed, which staff are not in. With all the plus 12 euros. At that wage level, it would be itor service staff have to be able to spot these strikes at the moment, staff are finding it difficult to rent somewhere to live in Paris." 30 spring-summer 2020/HesaMag #21 Special report 19/35 Like all staff, his working day begins 52-year-old Piotr’s knees hurt. He has "This relationship with the Louvre is at the card reader at the staff entrance to the had enough of standing around all the time part of the job. We are welcoming members of side of the museum in Rue de Rivoli. "After and being tired out all day long. These days, the public in, so how could we do this properly 8.45 a.m., it counts as being late." All the visi- he is not keen on the rooms without chairs, if we didn’t know the context? Even though, it tor service and warding staff – 10 or so differ- where you pace up and down in a small space. must be said, most of the questions are about ent jobs including cashiers, ticket checkers, "What I like are the peaceful areas, like the the Mona Lisa …" warders in the galleries, security personnel room with Les Chasses de Maximilien. Some- 80% of visitors come specifically to and collections officers – have to adhere to times there are fewer than 10 visitors a day to see the Mona Lisa. Their queries are often this timetable. that room, and they’re mainly scholars com- piquant and creative. "People regularly at- There is at least one member of staff for ing to have another look at the tapestries." tribute the Mona Lisa to Leonardo DiCaprio; each of the museum’s 403 rooms, and the lo- As we pass from room to room with we also have people who see La Joconde [the cation dictates how busy it is. "For the Mona Gary, we are enchanted by the beauty of the French title for the painting] and then ask Lisa alone, there are 20 000 visitors a day, surroundings. The suites of rooms and their where the Mona Lisa is," he says with a smile. 40 000 in high season, and that’s the equiv- richly decorated ceilings are as captivating The other aspect of the job is supervis- alent of a medium-sized French town!" Gary as the perfect profiles of the classical statues. ing the public. This task is becoming tricki- tells us how the museum prepares each day After a few hours in the corridors of the Lou- er as public expectations change in a society for this little tsunami with its teams on the vre, the atmosphere envelops us. "It’s magical where everything is becoming a service. Staff ground and its mobile units. for the employees as well," confirms Gary. tell us about extraordinary situations where Union representative Karine, aged 43, For Gary and the others, no two days are parents have taken a corner of an exhibition has a different take on her 23 years at the Lou- alike.