PARIS - Staff at Paris's Pompidou Centre on Thursday suspended a strike that has shut down France's top modern art museum for more than three weeks, management and unions told Agence France-Presse.

The museum reopened in the afternoon for the first time since the strike began November 23 but unions said they were likely to resume the protest action in early January.

The strike was called by unions representing culture ministry workers to protest plans to trim the civil service by replacing only half of all retiring employees.

The decision to suspend the strike came after the museum's board of directors warned that a prolonged shutdown would put the Pompidou Centre "in real danger by seriously damaging its image and earnings."

The museum's directors had expressed concern about the closure during the rush of visitors to Paris during the holiday season.

"The idea is to take a breather during the holidays. We will take up the issue early next year. Our demands are still valid," said Franck Guillaumet of the CGT union.

The strike at the Pompidou Centre, which was holding a major exhibition of the works of France's best-known living artist Pierre Soulages, briefly spread to other museums but they have since re-opened.

Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand has refused to back down and several meetings with union leaders have ended with no agreement.

The Pompidou Centre houses one of Europe's top collections of modern art, a public library, bookshops, performance halls, a restaurant and cafe.