Renoir Artworks Worth Millions Stolen in Five-Minute Heist in France
Two thieves carried out an early-morning raid on the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on Tuesday, taking off with two of the four paintings they targeted.
Two Renoir paintings, "Madame Colonna Romano" and "Jeune femme au puits," were stolen from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, southern France, in a swift robbery on September 8. Initially, the duo intended to take four of the artist's works, but dropped two in the garden before fleeing. The heist lasted just five minutes, and the thieves were described as "well equipped and well informed" by Cagnes-sur-Mer's Mayor Bryan Masson.
They used an electric saw to breach the museum's fence and secure the paintings. Police caught up to the thieves on foot and recovered two of the paintings, but the other two remain missing. The combined value of the stolen works, including the two recovered, is estimated at €9 million ($10.5 million). This incident highlights the escalating threats that museums face across Europe, with crimes becoming more aggressive, as reported by Europol.
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