00:00The Louvre Museum has started raising admission for most non-European visitors by 45 percent as it tries to shore up finances after repeated strikes and chronic overcrowding.
00:13The change affects visitors from most non-EU countries including the United States, which typically accounts for most of the Louvre's foreign tourists.
00:22The price hike from €22 to €32 is part of a national differentiated pricing policy announced last year that's coming into force across major cultural sites, including the Versailles Palace and the Paris Opera, among others.
00:37Guided groups will pay €28 with tourists capped at 20 people to maintain the quality of the visit, the museum said.
00:45French worker unions have denounced the Louvre ticketing change, saying it undermines the universal mission of the world's most visited museum.
00:52The CGT culture union has denounced the policy, arguing it turns access to culture into a commercial product and creates unequal access to national heritage.
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