Vandals who broke into the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and punched a Monet masterpiece, thereby creating a fist sized hole in one of Monet's most famous works have been apprehended. The destruction of the priceless masterpiece "Le Pont d'Argenteuil" resulted from drunken mayhem resulting from the celebrations following the French victory over the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup.
Security camera footage of the appaling attack on the painting scandalized the culturally sensitive French when it was broadcast on TV. One of the suspects fearful of the consequences turned himself in to police and named the other 4 perpetrators who are being held for questioning.
The painting is widely regarded as an important work and is widely reproduced and so is one of his most famous images. The iconic nature of the work and the savagery of the attack has lead to calls by the French Minister For Arts, Christine Albanel, for increased penalties for art vandalism.
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