Mona Lisa covered in soup in food activist attack in Paris

The Mona Lisa is protected by glass so was not likely to have been damaged in the attack

Two environmental activists from the collective dubbed "Riposte Alimentaire" (Food Retaliation) stand in front of Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" painting after hurling soup at the artwork, at the Louvre museum in Paris.

It is arguably the most famous painting in the world.

Now, protesters in Paris have attempted to raise the profile of their cause by throwing soup at the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum.

The 16th-century paining by Leonardo Da Vinci, which is one of the world’s most famous artworks, is protected behind a glass pane.

In a video shared by French news agency CL Press on Sunday, a woman can be seen throwing liquid from a tin at the artwork.

She then crosses a boundary between the painting and public alongside another women, with both of them wearing T-shirts that say “Riposte Alimentaire”, which translates as food response, written on the front.

“What’s the most important thing? Art, or right to healthy and sustainable food?” the protesters shout, according to the AP news agency.

“Our farming system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work,” they added.

French organisation Riposte Alimentaire describe themselves as a collective which seeks to highlight the need to protect sustainable food.

Museum staff are later seen rushing in to prop black protective panels around the artwork.

France has faced major protests in the last few days by farmers in a bid to pressure the government to give in to their demands that growing food be made easier and more lucrative.

The movement has spread across the country with protesters using their tractors to shut down long stretches of road and slow traffic on some major routes.

The farmers are seeking better remuneration for their produce, less red tape and protection against cheap imports.

It is not the first time the Mona Lisa has been targeted by protesters or thieves.

In 2022, a man disguised as an elderly woman in a wheelchair threw cake at the famous painting.

The perpetrator, wearing a wig and lipstick, called on people to “think of the Earth” as they were led from the scene.

In 1911, the painting was stolen by a museum employee, an event which increased the painting’s international fame.

The artwork had the glass installed in the 1950s to protect it after an acid attack.