Agadir – Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, southern France, early today and stole four works of art valued at an estimated €9 million ($10 million), according to French authorities.
Cagnes-sur-Mer Mayor Bryan Masson said the suspects entered the museum in the early morning and fled with four artworks. Municipal surveillance cameras captured the two men as they escaped, prompting them to abandon one of the stolen paintings during the getaway.
“The two individuals broke into the Renoir Museum and stole four works of art,” Masson said, adding that authorities estimated the value of the stolen pieces at €9 million.
The museum’s alarm went off at 5:48 a.m., and municipal police arrived at the site five minutes later, according to the mayor.
Authorities launched an investigation into the theft and continued efforts to identify and locate the suspects.
The Renoir Museum opened in 1960 at the former home of French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Renoir lived at the property during the final years of his life before his death in 1919.
The museum houses personal belongings and furniture that belonged to Renoir, including his easel and wheelchair. Its collection also features paintings depicting portraits and landscapes.
The latest theft comes less than a year after thieves targeted the Louvre Museum in Paris in a high-profile daylight robbery.
Eight items worth around $100 million disappeared during the Louvre heist. French authorities have arrested four suspects in connection with that case, but investigators have yet to recover the stolen pieces.
French investigators have conducted extensive searches in the Paris region and worked with law enforcement agencies in Belgium, Italy, and other countries as they continue efforts to recover the missing items.
