Two local weather activists hurled soup Sunday on the glass defending the Mona Lisa on the Louvre Museum in Paris and shouted slogans advocating for a sustainable meals system. This got here amid protests by French farmers towards a number of points, together with low wages.
In a video posted on social media, two ladies with the phrases “FOOD RIPOSTE” written on their t-shirts may very well be seen passing beneath a safety barrier to get nearer to the portray and throwing soup on the glass defending Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece.
“What’s an important factor?” they shouted. “Artwork, or proper to a wholesome and sustainable meals?”
“Our farming system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work,” they added.
The Louvre workers may then be seen placing black panels in entrance of the Mona Lisa and asking guests to evacuate the room.
Paris police stated two individuals had been arrested following the incident.
On its web site, the “Meals Riposte” group stated the French authorities is breaking its local weather commitments and referred to as for the equal of the nation’s state-sponsored well being care system to be put in place to provide individuals higher entry to wholesome meals whereas offering farmers a good earnings.
Indignant French farmers have been utilizing their tractors for days to arrange highway blockades and sluggish visitors throughout France to hunt higher remuneration for his or her produce, much less pink tape and safety towards low cost imports. Additionally they dumped smelly agricultural waste on the gates of presidency places of work.
On Friday, the federal government introduced a sequence of measures that farmers stated don’t totally deal with their calls for. These embrace “drastically simplifying” sure technical procedures and the progressive finish to diesel gasoline taxes for farm autos.
Some farmers threatened to converge on Paris, beginning Monday, to dam the principle roads resulting in the capital.
New Prime Minister Gabriel Attal visited a farm on Sunday within the central area of Indre-et-Loire. He acknowledged farmers are in a tough place as a result of “on the one aspect we are saying ‘we want high quality’ and on the opposite aspect ’we wish ever-lower costs’.”
“What’s at stake is discovering options within the brief, center and long run,” he stated, “ as a result of we want our farmers.”
Attal additionally stated his authorities is contemplating “extra” measures towards what he referred to as “unfair competitors” from different international locations which have totally different manufacturing guidelines and are importing meals to France.
He promised “different selections” to be made within the coming weeks to deal with farmers’ issues.
