Woman dragged from Cannes red carpet after covering herself in 'blood'

A woman was dragged from the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival after staging a protest by pouring fake blood on herself.

Video footage from the event shows the woman walking up the steps of the Cannes Film Festival for the premier of the movie Acide.

She then turns around, pulls two packs out of the top of her dress and proceeds to burst them, spilling fake blood all over herself in protest.

Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

The smiling protester was almost immediately grabbed by a security guard who escorted her from the red carpet. She only just had enough time to carry out the protest.

She did not have any placards or shout any slogans, which initially left many guessing as to what the protest was about.

The outfit that she was wearing was a long gown in bright blue and yellow - the colours of the Ukrainian flag - making many viewers believe she was an anti-war protester.

The demonstration comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has focused on intensive fighting around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

The city has become the focus of intensive fighting, with some reports suggesting that Russia has lost some 100,000 soldiers killed or wounded in the battle, while Ukrainian losses are estimated in the tens of thousands.

Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo

Bakhmut has also seen the presence of the infamous Russian paramilitary organisation the Wagner Group. The group, which has also seen action in the Syrian Civil War, has been the subject of numerous reports of human rights violations and war crimes.

This is not the first time that Cannes has seen an anti-war protester over the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, a protester staged a demonstration relating to the war during the premier of George Miller's Three Thousand Years Of Longing.

She got onto the red carpet fully clothed, before stripping off to reveal that she was doused in Ukrainian colours. She also had a message written on her body saying 'stop raping us' on her front and 'scum' on her back.

Recent weeks have seen Ukraine's president Zelenskyy touring numerous summits, petitioning the international community to supply Ukraine with weapons. This included meetings with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as at a summit of the Arab League, which also saw Syria readmitted.

Discussion has focused on supplying Ukraine with modern F-16 fighter jets, with US President Joe Biden committed to an international task force which will train Ukrainian pilots on the planes.