Ten days after its reopening the Pompidou Centre in Paris was closed on January 10th 2000 to the public following a strike by its employees which resulted in the cancellation of a visit by president Jacques Chirac the next day. Employees went on strike after complaining about working conditions, a shortage of staff and a reform of their status.
President Chirac and 200 international personalities were due to attend a reception on January 11th while the opening of the exhibition entitled "Time quickly" as well as a concert were cancelled.
Union representatives decided to go on strike after they discovered that the reform of their status did not provide for salary rises for a third of the 900 employees of the centre, which was closed during two years pending renovation works.
Museum officials said that only 10% of the employees were responsible for that strike and were holding others as hostages. Strikers said the Pompidou Centre could not be opened to the public in the absence of security agents.
The Centre was affected by many strikes during the 20 years of its existence. the first one took place in 1978 just before the opening of the Dali exhibition. In 1982, the Centre was closed during 20 days and six weeks in September 1989 following strikes by employees in charge of cleaning.
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