Louvre, protest in front of Géricault's Medusa against Total sponsoring France's top museum

A group of environmentalists, belonging to the Libérons le Louvre collective, which collaborates with the U.S.-based nonprofit organization 350.org, staged a singular protest in Room 77 of the Louvre in Paris, the one dedicated to the masterpieces of French Romanticism. In fact, about ten people, dressed in black, lay down for about ten minutes in front of the Raft of the Medusa, the very famous masterpiece by Théodore Géricault (Rouen, 1791 - Paris, 1824), occupying the floor in front of the work without, however, causing any disturbance to visitors. Museum officials then evacuated the room and the activists, of their own free will, walked away, not without chanting chants against Total, the oil company that, again for this year, is sponsoring the Louvre’s activities.

The protest, in fact, was directed against Total, for the damage that oil causes to the environment: the protest aimed to simulate the effects of oil pollution on life. The French company has been sponsoring the Louvre for about two decades: the Louvre’s director, Jean-Luc Martinez, had already reiterated last year at a similar protest that many of the museum’s activities could not take place without Total’s funding. Not of the same opinion are 350.org activists, who specify in a note that “by accepting donations from fossil fuel companies such as Total, the Louvre is not only damaging its own reputation, but also helping to promote the idea that we can continue to use fossil fuels without doing any harm.” Not only that, according to 350.org, the Louvre “has a fundamental moral responsibility on the climate crisis, as a conduit between civilizations and cultures, but also as a place of education. Its partnership with Total damages its role and ambition to build bridges between past civilizations, the present, and future generations.” The goal of 350.org is to get the Louvre to renounce Total’s funding.

Video of Libérons le Louvre’s performance is available on their Facebook page.

Louvre, protest in front of Géricault's Medusa against Total sponsoring France's top museum

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