diff --git a/src/wikiq/resume.py b/src/wikiq/resume.py
index a1fa37c..a1bbec0 100644
--- a/src/wikiq/resume.py
+++ b/src/wikiq/resume.py
@@ -236,8 +236,14 @@ def merge_parquet_files(original_path, temp_path, merged_path):
         False if both sources were empty
         None if temp file is invalid (caller should keep original unchanged)
     """
-    original_pq = pq.ParquetFile(original_path)
 
+    try:
+        original_pq = pq.ParquetFile(original_path)
+    except Exception:
+        # Original file is invalid (empty or corrupted)
+        print(f"Note: No data in original file (namespace had no records or file was not properly written)", file=sys.stderr)
+        return None
+        
     try:
         temp_pq = pq.ParquetFile(temp_path)
     except Exception: