Thieves steal Renoir works from French Riviera museum

French police are searching for two thieves who broke into the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera before dawn Tuesday and stole paintings valued at about $10.5 million, officials said.

The burglary took place in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, at the museum dedicated to 19th-century Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Mayor Bryan Masson said surveillance cameras spotted two people entering the site shortly before 6 a.m. and fleeing with artworks.

“The museum alarm went off at 5:48 am. At 5:53 am, just five minutes later, our municipal police were on the scene,” Masson said, according to Al Jazeera.

Accounts differed on how many paintings remained missing after the thieves fled. CBS News, citing Masson and the local newspaper Nice-Matin, reported that the thieves made off with four paintings and that two were later found in the museum garden. Al Jazeera reported that three paintings were stolen and that the thieves abandoned a fourth as they ran from the museum.

Nice-Matin reported that the works initially taken included “Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano,” “Coco Lisant” and “Young Girl at the Well,” with an overall worth of around $10.5 million. CBS News reported that it was not immediately clear which two paintings were still missing or what their estimated value might be. Al Jazeera reported that Masson did not identify the stolen paintings and said his office estimated the value of the stolen works at 9 million euros, or $10.5 million.

“Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran,” Masson said, according to Al Jazeera. “Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. These actions are particularly serious.”

In a separate statement cited by CBS News, Masson said both municipal and national police had been deployed to the site. “The perpetrators are being actively sought, and the investigation is ongoing,” he said.

Investigators found two zippered bags in the museum garden that may have belonged to the suspects, Al Jazeera reported. France’s Sub-Directorate for Combating Organised Crime and Specialised Delinquency is leading the investigation, the outlet said.

The Renoir Museum opened in 1960 in the painter’s last home before his death in 1919. Its collection includes objects and furniture that belonged to Renoir, including his easel and wheelchair, as well as 13 paintings and about 40 sculptures by the artist, according to Al Jazeera. CBS News reported that the museum also holds works by other artists.

Masson said the burglary underscored the need to strengthen museum security in Cagnes-sur-Mer. “They also confirm the urgent need to implement the comprehensive plan to secure our museums and protect our works of art, a plan to which I have committed,” he said, according to CBS News. “We will dedicate all necessary resources to better protect this heritage, which belongs to all the residents of Cagnes.”

The theft follows a major robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris less than a year earlier. CBS News reported that French crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million were stolen from the Louvre in October 2025. Al Jazeera reported that eight items valued at about $100 million were taken in a daylight robbery, that four suspected Louvre robbers have been arrested, and that the stolen items have not been found despite searches in the Paris region and exchanges with police in Belgium, Italy and beyond.