Two thieves broke into the Musée Renoir in Cagnes-sur-Mer before dawn on Tuesday, September 8, stealing four paintings before abandoning two of them during their escape, according to France Info. The museum's alarm was triggered at 5.48am, and municipal police arrived within five minutes, Cagnes-sur-Mer mayor Bryan Masson said, according to the outlet.
Police sources told France Télévisions that the intruders cut through the property's perimeter fencing with a metal saw and used the same tool to sever the mounts holding the paintings to the wall, with a glazed door also damaged during the break-in. "This looks like it was likely commissioned, given the equipment and persistence of the burglars, but the investigation will tell us more," Masson told ICI Azur.
The museum's own alarm and police sirens appear to have forced the pair to abandon their attempt early, according to France 24, with only four of the museum's twelve on-display works taken and two of those later found discarded in the gardens. Masson estimated the damage at around €9 million, though investigators have not yet confirmed which specific paintings were stolen or their individual value.
The Marseille prosecutor's office has opened an investigation for organised theft and criminal conspiracy, France 24 reported. The Musée Renoir occupies the Domaine des Collettes, the final home of Impressionist painter Auguste Renoir, who lived there from 1907 until his death in 1919.