Two thieves stole art valued at approximately £7.5 million (9 million euros) from a museum dedicated to the French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France. The incident occurred Tuesday morning when the two individuals entered the Renoir Museum.
Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, stated that the thieves abandoned one of the stolen paintings as they fled. The town's video surveillance cameras reportedly captured the individuals. The municipal police arrived at the scene five minutes after the museum's alarm was triggered at 5:48 a.m.
The Renoir Museum, located in the artist's final home, opened in 1960. Its collection includes personal items belonging to Renoir, such as his easel and wheelchair, alongside his paintings.
This theft follows a significant heist at the Louvre in Paris less than a year ago, where eight items worth around $100 million were stolen in a daytime robbery. While the four suspects in the Louvre case have been arrested, the stolen artworks have not yet been recovered despite ongoing investigations and international cooperation.