Climate activists threw soup at Mona Lisa in Paris

PARIS — Two climate activists threw soup at the glass guarding the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris on Sunday and chanted slogans advocating for a sustainable food system. This comes as French farmers protest against various issues, including low wages.

In a video published on social media, two women with “FOOD RIPOSTE” written on their t-shirts were seen passing under the security barrier to approach the painting, throwing soup at the glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece.

“What is the most important thing?” they shouted. “Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food?”

“Our agricultural system is sick. “Our farmers are dying while working,” he added.

Louvre staff were later seen placing black panels in front of the Mona Lisa and asking visitors to vacate the room.

Paris police said two people were arrested following the incident.

The “Food Riposte” group said on its website that the French government was violating its climate commitments and called for the introduction of the equivalent of the country’s state-backed healthcare system to ensure people have better access to healthy food while providing healthy food to farmers. a reasonable income.

Angry French farmers have been using their tractors to block roads and slow traffic across France for days in a bid to get better wages, less bureaucracy and protection against cheap imports for their crops. They also dumped smelly agricultural waste on the doors of government offices.

On Friday, the government announced a series of measures that farmers say do not fully meet their demands. These include “drastic simplification” of certain technical procedures and phasing out taxes on diesel fuel for agricultural vehicles.

Some farmers have threatened to gather in Paris to block main roads leading to the capital from Monday.

New Prime Minister Gabriel Attal visited a farm in the central region of Indre-et-Loire on Sunday. He acknowledged that farmers are in a difficult situation because “on one side we say ‘we need quality’ and on the other side we say ‘we want lower prices’.”

“The important thing is to find solutions in the short, medium and long term,” he said, “because we need our farmers.”

Attal also said his government was considering “additional” measures to counter what he called “unfair competition” from other countries that have different production rules and import food into France.

He promised that “further decisions” would be taken in the coming weeks to address farmers’ concerns.