Versailles chateau closed to tourists as French museum worker strike continues

Versailles closed as French museum strike spreads

PARIS — The royal palace at Versailles is closed to visitors because of a museum workers’ strike that has disrupted the Louvre and other French tourist attractions.

A Versailles official says the chateau, which normally gets thousands of visitors daily, is closed Thursday for lack of enough personnel. The extensive gardens beneath the chateau west of Paris remain open.

An official at the Louvre said the museum opened late Thursday as a result of the strike and only part of its vast collection is accessible.

Both officials were not authorized to be named according to their museums’ policy.

Strikers are protesting government plans not to replace half of retiring public servants, which will affect the country’s national museums.