Thieves steal three paintings from Renoir Museum on French Riviera

Early Tuesday morning, thieves broke into the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera and stole three paintings, according to the local mayor. The intruders arrived just before 6 a.m. and managed to take four paintings during the raid, Mayor Bryan Masson reported on his Facebook page. Police pursued the thieves, causing one painting to be dropped but still managing to escape with the remaining three.

Masson emphasized that attacking the Renoir museum is an affront to the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. He described the actions as particularly serious. The museum was established in 1960 within the former residence of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, situated on a hill in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, where the artist passed away in 1919. The museum's current collection comprises 13 paintings by the renowned artist and around 40 sculptures, furniture pieces, and photographs.

While Masson did not specify the titles of the stolen paintings, the Renoir's most valuable works have been sold for tens of millions of dollars at auctions in the past. European art thieves have been increasingly resorting to more violent robberies, with specialist gangs being replaced by more organized criminal groups.