Portrait of stupidity! Eco-zealots attack Mona Lisa with cans of soup

ECO-activists caused chaos at the Louvre in Paris yesterday by hurling soup at the Mona Lisa.

Two protesters threw cans of liquid – said to be pumpkin soup – at bulletproof glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s priceless masterpiece.

One of the activists then took off her jacket to reveal a white T-shirt emblazoned with the name of environmental group ‘Riposte Alimentaire’ (Food Response).

The Salle de Etats – the largest room in the museum where the masterpiece is displayed – was evacuated and closed for an hour while the area was cleaned. Paris police said they had arrested two people.

Riposte Alimentaire claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the activists as ‘Sasha’, 24, and ‘Marie-Juliette’, 63.

The eco-mob are part of the so-called A22 Network, a collection of protest groups in 12 countries, which includes Just Stop Oil (JSO) in the UK.

The Mona Lisa is one of the most valuable paintings in the world with an insurance valuation of £787million.

A Louvre spokesman said ‘no damage Dear Mum was done to the painting, which has been behind protected under this armoured glass since 2005’.

‘The Louvre’s security staff immediately

intervened,’ they added. ‘The Salle des Etats, where the Mona Lisa is displayed, was evacuated calmly.

‘Visitor access was then suspended for an hour, while the necessary cleaning was carried out. The museum will lodge a complaint.’

Yesterday’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.

Last November, JSO smashed the protective glass on the Rokeby Venus painting by Diego Velazquez at the National Gallery in London.