Environmental activists throw paint at a sculpture by American Charles Ray in Paris

PARIS, 18 Nov. (DPA/EP) -

Environmental activists have spilled orange paint on the 'Horse and Rider' statue, by American artist Charles Ray, on display in the streets of the French capital, Paris.

This act is part of an apparent campaign by organizations in defense of the climate, which attack recognized works of art to denounce climate change and the inaction of governments.

The activists, members of the Última Renovación group, have also put a white T-shirt on the rider of the statue in which the motto 'We have 858 days left' could be read, in a clear reference to the period available to avoid to avoid a climate catastrophe.

"Climate conferences are not going to save us, everyone knows that. Civil resistance is our only hope (...) Please, act, react," he has transferred from the Última Renovación movement.

For her part, the French Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, has denounced that "environmental vandalism has risen to a higher level" after the attack on Ray's sculpture. "Thanks to the restorers, who intervened quickly," she has stated on Twitter.

Charles Ray is one of the most prominent American sculptors and, since the beginning of the year, his statue has been in front of the Pinault Museum, in the old Mercantile Exchange in the center of the French capital.

Environmental activists have carried out similar actions in recent months in museums around the world, including in Madrid, where the paintings of 'La maja desnuda' and 'La maja vestida', works by Francisco de Goya, were attacked.

Other works under attack have been 'Los Girasoles', by Vincent van Gogh; 'The Scream', by Edvard Munch, or 'Death and Life', by Gustav Klimt. This same Friday, eight kilos of flour have been thrown on a car designed by Andy Warhol in an exhibition in Milan.