France, Oui or Non? Ask the Workers

It’s been a troubled tourist season in France, as labor disputes have periodically shut popular sites and even the Chunnel. The closures are often sudden, so it pays to stay flexible and check news reports and local sources.

For instance, striking workers last week blocked the Channel Tunnel terminal in France, halting auto traffic from France to England for part of a day. Last week also marked the third week of strikes that shut the Louvre museum, the Orsay museum with its Impressionist collection, the Arc de Triomphe and the Pantheon in Paris. The Louvre said it had turned away at least 100,000 people. And Paris subway workers staged a surprise walkout. On the bright side--for tourists--workers at the Versailles palace let visitors in for free last month.

Issues vary, but in general, strikers are demanding that the government hire more people to cope with growing numbers of tourists.