Crime & Public Safety
Renoir paintings missing as French police hunt thieves
French police were hunting two thieves on Tuesday after two Renoir paintings were stolen from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, southern France, in a break-in that took only minutes.
Mayor Bryan Masson said the burglars took four works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir but left two in the museum gardens after alarms forced them to hurry. His office said the missing paintings were “Madame Colonna Romano” and “Jeune femme au puits”. The recovered works were “Madame Pichon” and “Coco lisant”, a portrait of Renoir’s young son Claude reading.
Masson said the suspects appeared “well equipped and well informed”. He said they cut through a fence, smashed a window and used an electric saw to cut through frame mountings. The museum alarm sounded at 5:48 am, and municipal police arrived five minutes later, he said.
Masson’s office earlier estimated the value of the stolen works at 9 million euros, or about $10 million.
Lilie Jalabert of the Alliance Police Nationale union said the burglars were “certainly not first-time offenders” and appeared to have carried out reconnaissance before the theft.
The Renoir Museum is in the painter’s last home, about a half-hour drive from Nice. Its collection includes nine Renoir paintings, several sculptures and objects and furniture that belonged to him, including his easel and wheelchair.
Masson urged the culture ministry to set aside substantial funding to improve museum security. The theft follows other French museum heists, including last year’s daylight theft of crown jewellery valued at about $100 million from the Louvre in Paris. Four suspected Louvre robbers have been arrested, but the jewels have not been found.
Update
French police were hunting the two thieves on Tuesday.
Mayor Bryan Masson said the suspects cut through a fence, smashed a window and used an electric saw to remove frame mountings.
A French police union representative said the burglars appeared to have scoped out the museum beforehand.
Masson urged France's culture ministry to provide more funding to protect museums.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 15:48:25 UTC.
Update
Two thieves were being sought by police.
The missing paintings were identified as "Madame Colonna Romano" and "Jeune femme au puits".
The recovered works were identified as "Madame Pichon" and "Coco lisant".
Mayor Bryan Masson said the thieves appeared well equipped and well informed and used a metal saw to cut through pistons holding the frames.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 11:57:07 UTC.
Update
Mayor Bryan Masson said two of the four stolen works were left behind in the Renoir Museum gardens.
The mayor said sirens forced the burglars to hurry.
The current account says the stolen works were Renoir paintings.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 10:25:19 UTC.
Update
The museum alarm went off at 5:48 am and municipal police arrived at 5:53 am, according to the mayor.
The Renoir Museum opened in 1960 in Pierre-Auguste Renoir's last home before his death in 1919.
The museum collection includes objects and furniture that belonged to Renoir, as well as paintings.
The theft came less than a year after eight items valued at about $100 million were stolen from the Louvre in Paris.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 07:24:22 UTC.
Update
The mayor said two thieves broke into the Renoir museum on Tuesday.
Four works of art were stolen, with one abandoned as the thieves fled.
The thieves were spotted by town video surveillance cameras, according to the mayor.
The museum is in Cagnes-sur-Mer in southern France.
The mayor's office estimated the value at 9 million euros, or about $10 million.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 07:06:27 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The identities and whereabouts of the two suspects were not reported.
The stolen Renoir paintings had not been reported recovered.
Source
AFP news report published on .