Picasso sprayed with paint by environmental activist in Montreal

After soup was thrown at a Monet painting in Lyon and the Mona Lisa in Paris in 2024 , a Picasso painting was targeted by activists on June 19 in Montreal. Exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, the painting L'Hétaïre was sprayed with pink paint by an environmental activist belonging to the Dernière Génération movement. Protected by a window, the work's frame was stained.

In a video shot by two accomplices, the young man throws a stream of pink paint before declaring: "Canada is burning. There are over 200 fires in the country right now, 83 of which are not protected, not stopped. We need a climate disaster protection agency, funded by the billion-dollar tax." While being stopped by a security guard, the activist continues: "There are too many problems here. There are people dying, tens of thousands of people have lost their homes. They are losing everything they own, we can't stop there." The young man is referring to the fires that have been affecting the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan since mid-June .

According to L'Independant , the perpetrator of this act of vandalism was questioned and then released by police. He is expected to appear in court. His two accomplices were released without charge. The activist group Dernière génération denounced the government's inaction in a press release : "Canadians remain unprotected in the face of climate disaster and the government must stop playing with our lives." The activist movement is used to major media stunts. In early June, it covered the column of a bank and the entrance to a casino in Montreal in paint to warn against "climate disasters."