Protesters throw soup on Mona Lisa in Paris

Protesters have thrown soup at the Mona Lisa painting in the Louvre Museum in Paris, according to French news outlets.

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, a woman can be seen throwing liquid from a tin on to the artwork.

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

[ Melodic munificence of JP McManus ]

Staff are later seen rushing into hide the disruption by propping up black protective panels.

Following the incident, Paris police said they had arrested two people, according to the AP news agency.

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 its thick glass casing ensured it came to no harm.

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

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

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

A statement from the Louvre Museum said that the Salle des États, where the Mona Lisa is displayed, was evacuated after the demonstration.

It added that the room was suspended for an hour while cleaning was carried out before it was reopened to visitors around midday.

The statement added: “The museum will lodge a complaint.”

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 pay for their produce, less red tape, and protection against cheap imports.

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.

The artwork had the glass installed in the 1950s to protect it after an acid attack. It was upgraded to armoured glass in 2005. - PA