Not Soup Nazis – just soup nasties
PARIS: Security is being reviewed at the Louvre in Paris after protesters hurled soup at the Mona Lisa in a surprise attack on the Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece.
The painting, which sits behind thick bulletproof glass at the museum, was undamaged during the vandalism on Sunday.
Children cried and visitors gasped as the pumpkin soup was thrown at the painting.
Two female protesters wearing T-shirts that read “Riposte Alimentaire” (Food Response), then launched into a speech about sustainable agriculture and the food supply chain, calling for “healthy and sustainable food”.
“What’s the most important thing?” they shouted. “Art, or right to healthy and sustainable food? Our farming system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work.”
Museum security staff moved swiftly to erect black screens around the painting and the protesters but couldn’t completely block the view of the scene.
French police arrested the two women at the scene.
The Riposte Alimentaire group said the protest was part of efforts to integrate “food into the general social security system”.
French farmers have been mounting blockades and roadblocks calling for better work conditions and wages and fewer regulations.
Riposte Alimentaire is part of the A22 umbrella movement of protest groups in 12 countries, which also includes Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion.
Museum staff are looking into how the women smuggled the soup into the Louvre, as strict bag controls at most major galleries are standard practice.
The Mona Lisa was last attacked in 2022 when a man threw a custard pie at the painting.