This image grab taken from AFPTV footage shows two environmental activists from the collective dubbed “Riposte Alimentaire” (Food Retaliation) gesturing as they stand in front of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” (La Joconde) painting after hurling soup at the artwork, at the Louvre museum in Paris, on January 28, 2024. – Two protesters on January 28, 2024 hurled soup at the bullet-proof glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” in Paris, demanding the right to “healthy and sustainable food”, an AFP journalist said. It is the latest attack on the masterpiece in the French capital’s Louvre museum, after someone threw a custard pie at it in May 2022, but it’s thick glass casing ensured it came to no harm. (Photo by David CANTINIAUX / AFPTV / AFP)
Two protesters who were arrested after hurling soup at Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting in Paris may escape prosecution and instead be ordered to make a donation, prosecutors said on Monday.
The two women on Sunday flung pumpkin soup at the bullet-proof glass protecting da Vinci’s most famous painting at the Louvre art museum, demanding the right to “healthy and sustainable food.”
A group called Riposte Alimentaire (“Food counterattack”) claimed responsibility for the stunt.
The two activists were arrested and temporarily placed in police custody.
The public prosecutor’s office said that the activists were accused of illegally entering the secure area around the painting, an offence carrying a maximum fine of 1,500 euros ($1,620).
The two activists were to be brought before prosecutors on Monday afternoon with a view to making a “citizen’s contribution” rather than facing a trial, the public prosecutor’s office said.
Under the French system, making such a donation to a victim’s association is an alternative to prosecution. The amount is determined by prosecutors up to a maximum of 3,000 euros.
The Louvre museum said the painting had not suffered any damage, adding that the women had hidden the pumpkin soup in a thermos flask.
The painting, which has been kept behind bulletproof glass since 2005, has been repeatedly attacked. In 2022, the masterpiece was targeted with a cream pie.
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