Mona Lisa protest sees women dump soup on famous painting

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Two female activists threw soup at the Mona Lisa at the Louvre on Sunday in a protest for food security and the protection of farmers. Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, which is protected behind armored glass, was not damaged, according to multiple reports.

“What is the most important?” the women shouted in French to a crowd of spectators after throwing soup at the painting. “Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food?”

“Our agricultural system is sick,” they said. “Our farmers are dying on the job.”

Videos and photographs of the incident that went viral on Sunday morning showed the Mona Lisa’s protective barrier covered in streaks of orange soup. The Louvre did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Members of the Louvre security entered the “Salle des Etats” room where the painting is on display and a video showed them blocking the women with black screens before removing them from the area. Paris police made two arrests following the incident, according to the Associated Press.

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The two activists appeared to be wearing white T-shirts with black letters spelling out the phrase “Riposte Alimentaire,” the name of a food security protest group that claimed responsibility for the incident. “Riposte Alimentaire” roughly translates to “food response” in English.

in a translation statement Posted on The group also order French citizens will receive a food card worth 150 euros (about $163) per month.

“Farmers are strained by the pressures of mass distribution, even forcing them to sell at a loss,” the group said, according to a translation. “Our agriculture and food system also has extremely worrying environmental consequences.”

Riposte Alimentaire is part of the movement a22a collection of protester groups such as Just Stop Oil, which made headlines in 2022 after pouring soup on Vincent van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers” ​​at the National Gallery museum in London, leading to arrests and minor damage to the frame of the chart.

The Mona Lisa incident comes as French farmers are protesting for better protection against imports and increased wages for what they produce, according to the Associated Press.

Rachida Dati, Minister of Culture of France, said in a post Sunday that no cause can justify an attack on the Mona Lisa.

“The Mona Lisa, like our heritage, belongs to future generations,” Dati wrote.

The Mona Lisa has been targeted by protesters in the past. In 2022, a man dressed as an old woman smeared the painting with a cake-like cream. More than a decade earlier, in 2009, a woman threw a ceramic mug at the painting. In 1956, the painting was hit by a rock and acid, prompting the museum to place it behind glass.

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