Two members of Riposte Alimentaire, also referred to as Food Response and Food Counterattack, were detained following their protest at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The demonstration took place near Eugène Delacroix's 1830 masterpiece, Liberty Leading the People. They placed stickers with the message "resisting is vital" around the painting, which had just been restored. Social media footage showed the activists, dressed in white t-shirts bearing the group’s name, vocally advocating for social security to support sustainable food, while raising their right hands.
Riposte Alimentaire's website outlines its vision for ensuring that everyone has access to sustainable and healthy food. Their proposals include the introduction of monthly food cards, restructuring the nation's agricultural framework, and promoting a dignified existence for farmers. This group is a constituent of the broader A22 movement, which also encompasses Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil. These organizations are known for their dramatic protests, including adhering themselves to artwork and assaulting distinguished art pieces in museums with food or paint.
Following their recent protest, the two activists involved were charged with "willful damage." A museum representative lodged a formal complaint against them, as reported by Le Monde.
A representative from the Louvre informed Agence France-Presse that the prominent painting was unharmed.
The museum had just re-displayed Liberty Leading the People on May 2, following a six-month restoration period. According to a press statement from the museum, it is "arguably the most renowned painting in the Louvre, second only to The Mona Lisa."
Riposte Alimentaire has also taken credit for similar actions at the Musée de Beaux-Arts in February and the Louvre in January. During these protests, activists targeted artworks by famous artists, hurling soup at Claude Monet’s 1872 piece Le Printemps (Spring) and Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
As of now, neither the Louvre Museum nor Riposte Alimentaire have provided comments on these incidents to ARTnews.
Selena Mattei