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Thieves made off with two valuable Renoir paintings after breaking into a small museum on the French Riviera early Tuesday, dropping two other stolen works in the garden as police raced to the scene, officials said.
The two thieves cut through a garden fence and entered the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer shortly before 6 a.m., stealing four paintings, Mayor Bryan Masson said.
The alarm sounded at 5:48 a.m. Police arrived five minutes later and chased the thieves, who dropped two of the paintings in the garden before escaping with the other two, according to Masson.
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Police officers patrol in front of the entrance of the Musee Renoir after four paintings, together valued at nine million euros, were stolen in an early-morning break-in, with two recovered in the museum’s garden and two still missing, in Cagnes-sur-Mer on Sept. 8, 2026. (Valery HACHE / AFP via Getty Images)
“Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer,” Masson said, further calling for tighter security at museums across France.
Surveillance cameras captured two people entering the museum. Police were still looking for them Tuesday.
Police line tape used to secure the area is seen near a hole in the outer fence of the Renoir Museum after four paintings were stolen by thieves in an early-morning break-in, with two recovered nearby, in Cagnes-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera, France, Sept. 8, 2026. (REUTERS/Manon Cruz)
The four paintings taken included “Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano,” “Coco Lisant” and “Young Girl at the Well,” according to French newspaper Nice-Matin, which valued the stolen works at about $10.5 million.
A view of the art Studio of Auguste Renoir at his former home, now the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A regional police official confirmed the theft and search for the suspects to The Associated Press, but could not confirm the reported value. It was also unclear which two paintings the thieves abandoned as they fled.
The museum remained closed Tuesday while police investigated.
A French municipal police car is parked in front of the entrance of the Renoir Museum after four paintings were stolen by thieves in an early-morning break-in, with two recovered nearby, in Cagnes-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera, France, Sept. 8, 2026. (REUTERS/Manon Cruz)
The Renoir Museum is housed in the hilltop estate where French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir spent the final years of his life and died in 1919.
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The museum, which opened in 1960, sits in Cagnes-sur-Mer between Nice and Cannes on France’s Mediterranean coast. Its collection includes 13 Renoir paintings, about 40 sculptures, furniture and photographs.
Tuesday’s theft follows a series of museum robberies in France, including last year’s theft of crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris.
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Thieves stole jewels valued at about $102 million from the Louvre in October, including a tiara that belonged to Empress Eugénie.
Europol said last month that art robberies in Europe have grown more violent and that some thefts once carried out by specialist gangs are now being committed by opportunists recruited through social media.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.