Two environmental activists engaged in an incident on Sunday at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where they threw soup at the protective glass surrounding the “Mona Lisa” while advocating for a sustainable food system.
In a video shared on social media, two women, identified by the words “FOOD RIPOSTE” on their T-shirts, crossed a security barrier to approach the painting, tossing soup at the glass safeguarding Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece.
Subsequently, Louvre staff were observed placing black panels in front of the “Mona Lisa” and instructing visitors to leave the room.
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Paris police reported the arrest of two individuals in connection with the occurrence.
The Food Riposte group, as stated on its website, accused the French government of failing to uphold its climate commitments.
The group called for the establishment of a comprehensive system comparable to the country’s state-sponsored healthcare, aiming to improve people’s access to healthy food while ensuring farmers receive fair income.
French farmers, discontent with current conditions, are using tractors to create road blockades, aiming for enhanced compensation, reduced bureaucracy, and protection against cheap imports.
They’ve also placed unpleasant agricultural waste at government office entrances.
Prior Incidents: Activists Again Target ‘Mona Lisa’
This isn’t the first time activists have targeted the “Mona Lisa.” In 2022, a man disguised as an elderly lady in a wheelchair smeared cream cake on the painting.
He stood up in front of the artwork, spreading the cake over the protective glass case.
As security guards intervened, the man threw roses and, while being led away, urged people to consider the Earth and emphasized the environmental motive behind his actions.
In the same year, two climate activists threw mashed potatoes at Claude Monet’s “Les Meules” in Germany, gluing themselves underneath the painting at the Museum Barberini in Potsdam.
Fortunately, the artwork was undamaged.
In a separate occurrence at the National Gallery in London, environmental demonstrators tipped tomato soup onto Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting in 2022.
The gallery confirmed the painting was protected by glass and remained unharmed.