Thieves Steal Three Artworks From Renoir Museum in France

Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, southern France, early Tuesday, stealing four impressionist paintings valued at 9 million euros ($10 million). Police gave chase as alarms sounded, prompting the suspects to abandon one painting in the garden while fleeing with the rest.

Early Morning Heist at the Cagnes-sur-Mer Estate

The brazen burglary unfolded a little before 6 a.m. on Tuesday at the museum dedicated to French impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir. According to local reporting, the perpetrators gained entry by breaking a hole through a garden fence before forcing their way into the mansion.

The facility, which opened in 1960 on the scenic hill where Renoir spent his final years before his death in 1919, houses a permanent collection comprising 13 paintings, roughly 40 sculptures, personal photographs, and furniture, including the artist’s easel and wheelchair. When the intrusion triggered the security system at 5:48 a.m., municipal police arrived at the scene just five minutes later at 5:53 a.m.

Town video surveillance cameras spotted the suspects immediately, sparking a rapid response from law enforcement. Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran, Mayor Bryan Masson stated in a social media briefing on Tuesday.

The Loot, the Valuation, and the Recovery Efforts

While Mayor Masson initially refrained from naming the specific pieces taken during the raid, local newspaper coverage identified the stolen works as Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano, Coco Lisant, and Young Girl at the Well. Municipal estimates place the combined worth of the stolen canvas collection at 9 million euros, which translates to roughly $10 million.

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The thieves ultimately managed to escape with three of the four targeted works, abandoning one in the grounds during the police pursuit. Investigators scouring the property later discovered two zippered bags in the museum garden believed to have been left behind by the suspects.

“Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. These actions are particularly serious.”

Mayor Bryan Masson, Cagnes-sur-Mer

France’s Sub-Directorate for Combating Organised Crime and Specialised Delinquency has taken charge of the active investigation. Authorities note that the perpetrators are being actively sought as municipal police maintain a heavy deployment across the site.

A Rising Wave of Brazen French Cultural Heists

Pan-European police body Europol warned last month that art thieves in Europe are turning toward increasingly violent robberies, with traditional specialist gangs frequently giving way to ad hoc opportunists recruited through social media channels.

Photo: Al Jazeera

That shift mirrors the staggering daytime heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris in October of last year, where thieves threatened guards and visitors before making off with jewels valued at €88 million, including Empress Eugenie’s tiara. Although French investigators arrested four suspects in connection with the Louvre raid, the stolen treasures remain missing despite extensive searches across the Paris region and international coordination with police agencies in Belgium, Italy, and beyond.