Activists splash soup on glass-protected Mona Lisa in Paris
Two protesters on Sunday hurled soup at the bullet-proof glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" in Paris, demanding the right to "healthy and sustainable food".
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Two women threw red and orange soup onto the glass protecting the smiling lady to gasps from the crowd in the French capital's Louvre museum.
Video footage showed two women flinging red soup at Leonard da Vinci's masterpiece, to gasps from onlookers.
"What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food," they asked, standing in front of the painting and speaking in turn.
"Your agricultural system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work."
The activists represented the French organisation "Riposte Alimentaire" (Food Response), which issued a statement saying the protest sought to highlight the need to protect the environment and sources of food.
The action comes as French farmers have been protesting for days to demand better pay, taxes and regulations.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Friday announced several measures, but road blockages have continued in different parts of the country.
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Sunday's action follows a series of such stunts by climate activists against world-famous paintings to demand more action to phase out fossil fuels and protect the planet.
It was not the first attack on the "Mona Lisa".
A 36-year-old man threw a custard pie at her in May 2022, because artists were not focusing enough on "the planet", but the thick glass casing ensured she came to no harm.
Other attempts have included throwing soup at Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at London's National Gallery in October 2022, and in the following month campaigners glued themselves to Goya paintings in Madrid's Prado museum.
(with newswires)
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