France – Persecution Live

PARIS

A man dressed as an elderly woman in a wheelchair smeared cake on the protective glass in front of the Mona Lisa in an attempt to deface the revered 16th-century work of art.

At the time of the incident on Sunday — which was reported on French news outlet franceinfo and widely shared on Twitter — the perpetrator was viewing the painting when he got up out of the wheelchair and besmirched the protective covering around it.

The Mona Lisa sits in France’s world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris and is heavily protected from the throngs who visit the cultural landmark each year. The portrait is housed in bullet-proof glass with security guards standing by at the ready.

Today one the most famous paintings in the world, it was created by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503 and has been hung at the Louvre on and off since 1800.

Museumgoers who wish to view the oil painting must line up behind a velvet rope, stepping forward one at a time to gaze at it or take a photo.

By Tassilo Hummel

PARIS (Reuters) – French customs have seized a yacht belonging to Rosneft boss Igor Sechin as it tried to leave the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat in a breach of EU sanctions on Russian oligarchs, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.

The move came as western states are implementing massive sanctions, including asset freezes, against Russia for invading its neighbour Ukraine. A separate nearly $600 million luxury yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has also been seized, by German authorities, Forbes reported.

The 88-metre “Amore Vero” arrived in La Ciotat on Jan.3 and was due to stay there until April 1st for repairs, the finance ministry said in a statement, adding that the vessel was subject to the new sanctions.

But on Wednesday, customs officers noted the yacht was “taking steps to sail off urgently, without the repair works being over,” the statement said, adding that the officers therefore decided to seize it.