In February 2024, two environmental activists from the collective Riposte Alimentaire had sprinkled soup on the board "Spring" by Claude Monet at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon. This action, intended to raise awareness of the climate emergency, resulted in a conviction on appeal for "minor damage" on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. At first instance, the young women had been acquitted, the painting having suffered no direct damage, being protected by a window. However, the appeal court reclassified the facts, imposing a fine of 300 Euros, with a suspended sentence for one of them.
The two activists' gesture, filmed and widely shared on social media, had sparked mixed reactions. Protecting the painting itself, the glass had spared the work, but the frame had been slightly damaged, requiring restoration. The activists had justified their action by invoking a form of "civil resistance", declaring: “We are facing a climate emergency that puts our lives and our dreams at risk.” Collective Riposte Alimentaire advocates for a food social security system that guarantees equitable access to sustainable food.
The decision of the Court of Appeal has rekindled the debate on the limits of freedom of expression in the context of activist actions. According to the lawyer of the two young women, Me Adeline Dubost, the conviction raises questions about "the balance between a political gesture and its legal consequences". If the activists were acquitted for their refusal to take a DNA sample, this conviction marks a precedent for symbolic actions with an ecological aim, which have multiplied in recent years in Europe. Despite this decision, Riposte Alimentaire persists in his fight, emphasizing that these gestures, although controversial, aim to raise awareness of the climate emergency and to encourage structural changes in our societies.
