Environmental activists defaced the Louvre pyramid on 27 October, covering the landmark glass monument with orange paint. Protestors from the Dernière Rénovation group threw balloons at the famous glass structure while one of the demonstrators climbed up the edge of the pyramid; according to the Telegraph, a dozen people were arrested following the incident.
A Louvre spokesperson confirmed to The Art Newspaper that the activists attempted to cover the pyramid, the museum’s main entrance, with an orange liquid. “One of them climbed onto the pyramid's outer glass roof using climbing equipment. The liquid was sprayed onto the glass; traces are visible on the [structure]. No damage to the pyramid has been reported at this stage. Visitor access to the museum was maintained throughout the operation,” the spokesperson adds.
The website of Dernière Rénovation says that humanity has just “513 days left” until societal collapse (referring to the carbon emissions peak predicted for 2025), adding that: “It is now up to us, ordinary citizens, to enforce the commitments to which our government refuses to comply. It is up to us to enter into civil resistance.” The group is demanding that the French government implements a nationwide plan for the thermal insulation of buildings.
The glass pyramid, designed by the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei, was inaugurated by the then French president François Mitterrand on 4 March 1989 after years of vitriolic debate—unheard in Paris since the early days of the “useless and monstrous” Eiffel Tower. Supported by a 200-ton steel and aluminium structure, the pyramid is surrounded by water basins and three smaller pyramids.