Topless feminist stabs wax Putin in France

The same day President Vladimir Putin was to arrive in France for D-Day anniversary events, radical feminist protest group Femen destroyed the Russian leader's statue in a Paris wax museum.

A topless member of the radical protest group Femen used a metal chisel to stab and bash in the face of Putin's statue in a famed Paris wax museum on Thursday.

The activist, who had 'Kill Putin' written on her bare chest, reportedly screamed "Putin is a dictator" while destroying the figure at the Grevin Wax Museum, French daily Le Parisien reported.

Police arrested the activist shortly after the attack, which happened near statues of US President Barack Obama and recently abdicated Spanish King Juan Carlos, both of which escaped without a scratch.

A Femen activist hacks apart Putin's effigy. (AFP)

Putin is to arrive in France on Thursday to attend the 70th anniversary of D-Day events, which have attracted scores of world leaders to France. Putin arrives under the cloud of the confrontation between western powers and Russia over the annexation of Crimea.

Even before the borders of Ukraine became an international issue, the Paris-based Femen had staged confrontational protests against Putin, as well as high-profile targets in France like the Notre Dame Cathedral and the head of the far-right National Front party Marine Le Pen.