The French justice system acquitted an environmental activist who carried out an action at the Orsay Museum in Paris to protest against climate change. The prosecution had requested her acquittal, while the museum estimated the economic damage from the action at almost 28,000 euros.
In June 2024, the activist placed a red sign and glued her hand to the glass protecting the painting by Claude Monet as a form of protest. In 2023, she had already been convicted for similar actions to two months of suspended prison and a course in civic education.
In recent years, various environmental activists have carried out similar actions against works of art to raise awareness about the climate emergency. In this case, the defense argued that a criminal conviction would have disproportionately interfered with the activist's right to freedom of expression.
