Mona Lisa painting at the Louver Museum was vandalized by a group of protesters on January 28, 2024 as they claimed to advocate for the rights of Parisian farmers.

As reported by BBC News, the Louver Museum issued a statement saying that the famous 16th century painting by Leonardo da Vinci was behind protective glass and was not damaged.

"The museum will lodge a complaint," authorities of the museum further stated.

In the footage obtained by the outlet, it shows two female protesters wearing T-shirts that read "food counterattack" as they threw soup at one of the world’s most famous artistic masterpiece.

The duo then stood in front of the painting, as they raised the question, "What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food?

"Your agricultural system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work," they added.

Museum security can then be seen putting black screens in front of the two protesters before the area was asked to be evacuated.

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A group called Riposte Alimentaire (Food Counterattack) claimed the entire responsibility of the bogus stunt and said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the protest was a part of their efforts to integrate "food into the general social security system.”

It further stated that the current model for food "stigmatises the most precarious and does not respect our fundamental right to food.”

Providing further insights into the incident the Louvre stated that the two members of Riposte Alimentaire, sprayed pumpkin soup on the Mona Lisa however there was no damage done.

It said the Salle des Etats, where the work is displayed, was evacuated, and reopened to visitors almost one and a half hour later post-evacuation.

Rachida Dati, the Minister for Culture in Farnce took to her X account and said that "no cause" could justify the Mona Lisa being targeted like this.

"Like our heritage [the painting] belongs to future generations," her tweet further read.

For context, the French capital, Paris has seen protests by farmers in recent days, who are calling for an end to the rising fuel costs and for regulations to be simplified. On Friday, January 25, 2024, they blocked key roads in and out of Paris as a form of protest.