You don't really need context to enjoy a dozen sheep (and one sheepdog) running through the halls of the Louvre, but here it is anyway.

Friday's "sheepstorm" was a protest by France's Farmers' Federation against reforms to the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy. They fear cuts to subsidies for smaller farms will speed the industrialization of agriculture and cost farmers their jobs.

"What we can see today is a desire on the part of the agricultural ministry to impose a marginalising policy which will get rid of farmers so we came here to say we don't belong to a museum and that our place is in the countryside, where we can revitalize the countryside, create jobs and develop quality produce, that's why we came here today," said a spokesman.

Officials at the Louvre said no one was arrested and no artwork was damaged.