(Paris) Two environmental activists threw soup on the glass protecting The Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris and shouted slogans in favor of a sustainable food system. This gesture occurred in the wake of a movement of demonstrations by French farmers, who are protesting in particular against unfair competition from imports and too low wages.
In a video posted on social media, we can see two women with the words “FOOD RIPOSTE” written on their sweaters, passing under a security barrier to get closer to the board and throw soup on the glass protecting the chef- work of Leonardo da Vinci.
“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 at work,” they lamented.
Louvre employees installed black panels in front The Mona Lisa and asked visitors to evacuate the room.
Paris police said two people were arrested after the incident.
On its website, the Food Riposte group said the French government was failing to meet its climate commitments and called for a system to give people better access to healthy food while providing farmers with a more decent income.
Angry French farmers have been using their tractors for days to set up roadblocks and slow traffic across France. They are demanding in particular to be better paid for their products, to reduce administrative formalities and to be protected against cheap imports. They also threw smelly agricultural waste at the gates of government offices.
On Friday, the government announced a series of measures that farmers say do not fully meet their demands. These include the simplification of certain technical procedures and the gradual elimination of taxes on diesel fuel for agricultural vehicles.
Some farmers have threatened to converge on Paris, starting Monday, to block main roads leading to the French capital.
New Prime Minister Gabriel Attal visited a farm in the central Indre-et-Loire region on Sunday. He recognized that farmers are in a difficult position because on the one hand there is the “need for quality” and on the other, the desire to have “ever lower prices”.
“The challenge is to find short, medium and long term solutions,” he said, “because we need our farmers. »
Mr Attal also said his government was considering “additional” measures against what he called “unfair competition” from other countries that have different production rules and import food into France.
He promised “further decisions” to come in the coming weeks to address farmers’ concerns.