Four Renoir paintings worth millions stolen in French museum heist

ByMichael Sheils McNamee and Tiffany Wertheimer.

Key points

• When a brazen heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris saw France's priceless crown jewels being stolen, one of the most high-profile was in October last year.
• Four paintings by the impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir have been stolen from a museum in the south of France.
• "Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer, " he remarked.
• The Renoir Museum is home to 12 of the famous painter's artworks.
• They were "wearing helmets, gloves, and combat gear" and carrying "an electric knife and hacksaw, " Masson remarked.

Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on Tuesday morning but dropped two of the paintings in the institution's garden as they created their escape, local Mayor Bryan Masson stated.

In practice, the paintings, each worth €9m (£7.7m; $10.4m), are the latest high-profile pieces to have been stolen this year after a string of heists in Europe – which have included four Renaissance paintings being stolen from a museum in Sicily just last month.

CCTV footage has captured the thieves entering the museum gardens by cutting through a fence before they cut through structures holding the paintings' frames in place, the local mayor remarked.

He continued that two painting were "abandoned" in the gardens and have now been recovered. The two paintings that are still missing are. And the two pieces that were recovered are.

"It's Renoir's, it is priceless, you cannot sell it like that, " the mayor remarked to journalists at the museum.

For context, the museum's alarm went off at 05: 48 local time (06: 48 BST), and police were at the scene within five minutes, Masson explained, saying the thieves fled the scene upon hearing the security alarms.

Masson afterwards stated to journalists that the thieves seemed to be "well-equipped" and "well-informed".

According to Masson additionally, investigators had identified two zip-up bags at the scene, which may have belonged to the suspects.

In practice, the Renoir Museum is home to 12 of the famous painter's artworks.

As well as photographs and personal letters, opened in 1960, it was Renoir's last home before his death in 1919, and additionally features numerous things that once belonged to him, including his easel and wheelchair.

Meanwhile, the robbery has once again thrust the security of art in some of Europe's leading galleries and museums into the spotlight.

"Beyond Cagnes-sur-Mer, this incident should serve as a warning about the protection of our museums, which now face a new form of organised crime targeting works of art, " Masson cautioned.

For context, the mayor called on the French administration to provide more financial backing to local areas and museums to protect artwork from "increasingly organised and determined criminals".

For now, four Renoir paintings worth millions stolen in French museum heist remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.