Two activists advocating for climate action made headlines on Sunday after they hurled soup at the glass encasing the iconic Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The act was accompanied by chants promoting a sustainable food system, amidst ongoing protests by French farmers highlighting various grievances, including inadequate wages.
In a video circulated on social media platforms, the duo, donning t-shirts emblazoned with the words “FOOD RIPOSTE,” were captured breaching a security barrier to approach the painting and subsequently splattering soup onto the protective glass shielding Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece.
“Which holds greater significance?” they exclaimed. “Art, or the fundamental right to access healthy and sustainable food?”
Drawing attention to the plight of farmers, they lamented, “Our agricultural system is ailing. Our farmers are toiling in peril.”
Promptly responding to the disruption, Louvre staff swiftly obscured the Mona Lisa with black panels and ushered visitors out of the area.
Paris authorities confirmed the apprehension of two individuals involved in the incident.
The “Food Riposte” collective, via its online platform, lambasted the French government for purportedly reneging on climate commitments and advocated for the establishment of a national food system akin to the state-backed healthcare system, aimed at enhancing access to nutritious food while ensuring equitable incomes for farmers.
Meanwhile, irate French farmers have resorted to utilizing their tractors to erect blockades and impede traffic nationwide, demanding improved compensation, reduced bureaucracy, and safeguards against inexpensive imports. Additionally, they resorted to depositing malodorous agricultural refuse at governmental premises.
Although the government unveiled a set of measures, farmers contend they fall short of addressing their grievances. The proposed actions include streamlining bureaucratic processes and phasing out diesel fuel levies for farm vehicles.
With some farmers threatening to converge on Paris, the new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal embarked on a farm visit in the Indre-et-Loire region on Sunday. Acknowledging the challenges faced by farmers amidst conflicting demands for quality and affordability, Attal underscored the imperative of devising short-term, mid-term, and long-term solutions.
Furthermore, Attal hinted at forthcoming measures to combat what he deemed as “unfair competition” from countries with disparate production standards, pledging to unveil additional initiatives in the ensuing weeks to assuage farmers’ concerns.
