LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP (File) | The Centre Georges Pompidou in the Beaubourg in Paris, on April 11, 2014

The Pompidou Centre modern art museum -- one of the biggest tourist draws in the French capital -- will remain closed this weekend because of a week-long strike by security guards, its management said.

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Around 100 guards walked out on Monday over a new law which forces them to become civil servants rather than be employed under the terms of their previous contracts.

Talks between the guards' unions and the French ministry of culture broke down on Thursday.

Grève au Centre Pompidou : le casse-tête des statuts https://t.co/cJHIZ4SX1v pic.twitter.com/U5wjCrroYR — Télérama (@Telerama) 30 mars 2017

Management said Saturday that they had no option but to keep the museum's doors shut over the weekend when tens of thousands of visitors were expected.

“Due to a strike against the implementation of a law aiming to reform the recruitment process of employees, we regret to inform you that the Centre Pompidou will not be open to the public today,” the contemporary museum said.

3.3 million art lovers

The iconic gallery, which attracted 3.3 million art lovers last year, is hosting a major retrospective of the American painter Cy Twombly.

A weekend of events entitled "Imagine the France of tomorrow" was moved to another Paris venue.

Nearly 1,200 people work at the museum in the heart of the city, which last year bucked the fall in visitor numbers of other major tourist attractions in the French capital after the Paris and Nice terror attacks.

With up to 18,000 visitors a day passing through its doors, the state-funded museum stands to lose hundreds of thousands of euros (dollars) from the stoppage.

Furthermore, the Pompidou Centre is celebrating 40 years since it first opened its doors to the public in 1977.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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