Two suspects made off with at least two Renoir paintings after a pre-dawn break-in at the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, on Tuesday. The thieves, described by the local mayor as a "well-equipped and apparently well-informed team," used a metal saw or electric knife to cut the bolts holding the frames of the artworks.
An alarm at the museum was triggered at 5:48 a.m., and police arrived within five minutes. However, the suspects had already fled the scene, according to Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer. The suspects entered the museum's gardens by cutting through an outer fence, as evidenced by a hole found in the chain-link barrier.
Surveillance cameras captured the suspects as they fled, dropping one painting as they ran. Mayor Masson later clarified that a second painting was also abandoned in the museum's gardens, meaning only two works were ultimately stolen. The total value of the stolen art was estimated at 9 million euros, approximately $10 million, though it remains unclear if this figure applied to all four initially targeted works or just those successfully taken.
The incident follows a high-profile theft at the Louvre Museum in Paris last October, where individuals disguised as construction workers stole jewelry once belonging to Napoleon and his wife. Local and national police are conducting a manhunt for the two suspects.
The Renoir Museum, founded in 1960 and dedicated to the Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, will remain closed until further notice. Mayor Masson stated that the targeting of the museum "means targeting a part of Cagnes-sur-Mer’s history and heritage" and underscored the need for a comprehensive plan to secure museums and protect artworks.