On Saturday, two individuals who strongly advocate for climate change action were apprehended for vandalizing the renowned Palace of Versailles in France with orange powder. In a recent act aimed at drawing attention to their cause, two members of the Riposte Alimentaire (Food Response) collective threw orange powder across the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, a magnificent gallery in the former center of power for the French monarchy, known for its Baroque style.
As reported by Le Figaro, referring to police sources, the two environmentally conscious activists were arrested by the authorities in Versailles and taken into custody. Thankfully, the incident did not result in any lasting harm to the palace or the artwork displayed within the gallery.
Riposte Alimentaire claimed responsibility, saying: “Two citizens involved in the Food Response campaign threw orange powder while running into the famous Hall of Mirrors at the Château de Versailles. The Hall of Mirrors is the indecency of a minority which monopolizes power and money while the people die. 350 years later nothing has changed! Through this action, Riposte Alimentaire wishes to raise awareness of growing inequalities, allowing a privileged minority to monopolize part of the resources, while the majority of citizens collect the crumbs.”
Crazy climate activists vandalising France’s Palace of Versailles with Orange Powder! pic.twitter.com/VJSTxUvQkP
— Global Dissident (@GlobalDiss) May 6, 2024
The historic items have been repeatedly targeted by the radical green group, who have previously taken credit for splashing soup on the renowned “Mona Lisa” at the Louvre Museum in January and later on “Le Printemps” by Claude Monet at the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon in February.
This approach has been embraced by different climate activist groups throughout Europe, including Just Stop Oil, who caused a stir by orchestrating a comparable soup assault on Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” at Britain’s National Gallery in 2022.
