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Climate: what risk do activists who attack works of art risk?
Climate: what risk do activists who attack works of art risk? – (France 2)
Several environmental activists are targeting works in museums, saying that in the future, painters will no longer have anything to paint on a planet that is being destroyed. What does the law say about these acts?
Monet’s spring was covered in soup, Saturday February 10 in a museum in Lyon (Rhône). Two weeks earlier at the Louvre in Paris, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa suffered the same fate. Climate activists are attacking works of art to make their demands heard. What do the perpetrators of these actions risk, and how can museums protect themselves? Security measures have been reinforced at the entrance to the Grévin museum in Paris. Each visitor is searched, and recently, certain products have been monitored, notably “tomato sauce products” Or “collapse”.
Up to 7 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros
Ten years ago, a statue of Vladimir Putin was destroyed by a FEMEN activist. Since then, the budget devoted to security has doubled. After being thrown at a painting by Monet, a German museum requires visitors to leave their personal belongings in a cloakroom. In France, the penalty for damaging a work of art can be up to 7 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros. In reality the authors are rarely convicted, because the targeted paintings are often protected. “The idea is not to damage, we know that there are windows. The objective is to call out”comments Catalina, member of Riposte Alimentaire.
