Two climate activists shook the hallowed halls of the Louvre Museum in Paris on Friday, splattering tomato soup across the protective glass shielding Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa. This audacious act, though causing no direct damage to the masterpiece, ignited a fiery debate about art, activism, and the right to “healthy and sustainable food.”
Wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “Food Counterattack,” the young women approached the Mona Lisa, bypassing bewildered onlookers. Suddenly, they doused the glass enclosure with a viscous red liquid, their voices ringing through the room: “What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food?”
As museum security rushed to intervene, the defiant duo continued their protest: “Your agricultural system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work!” Their words echoed through the museum, leaving echoes of the French capital’s recent farmer protests against rising fuel costs and bureaucratic burdens.
The group, claiming responsibility as “Riposte Alimentaire” (Food Counterattack), later declared the soup flinging a “symbolic act” and the “start of a campaign of civil resistance.” Their statement, sent to AFP, called for “the social security of sustainable food,” highlighting the critical need for food systems that nourish both people and the planet.
The incident sparked mixed reactions, with Culture Minister Rachida Dati swiftly condemning the act. “No cause, however noble, can justify targeting the Mona Lisa,” she tweeted, emphasizing the painting’s importance as a “heritage belonging to future generations.”
However, supporters of the protest argued that the activists’ message transcended the sanctity of a single artwork. They pointed to the rising cost of healthy food, environmental degradation caused by industrial agriculture, and the plight of struggling farmers as pressing issues demanding bold action.
This wasn’t the first time the Mona Lisa faced such controversial activism. In 2022, an activist smeared cake on the glass, urging people to “think of the Earth.” And in 1911, the painting was famously stolen, only to be recovered two years later.
Though the soup throwers and their motivations may spark debate, their act undoubtedly throws a spotlight on urgent issues surrounding food security, sustainability, and the role of art in social commentary. While the Mona Lisa remains unscathed, the ripples of this protest may well catalyze broader conversations about the future of our planet and the systems that sustain us.