Thieves steal three paintings from Renoir Museum on French Riviera

Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera early Tuesday morning, escaping with three paintings valued at an estimated 9 million euros ($10 million) after a brief police chase, the town's mayor said.

The robbers entered the museum shortly before 6 a.m. local time and initially seized four paintings, Cagnes-sur-Mer mayor Bryan Masson said in a statement posted to Facebook. Police spotted the suspects and pursued them, during which one painting was dropped and recovered, but the thieves escaped with the remaining three works.channelnewsasia+3

"Attacking the Renoir museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. These actions are particularly serious," Masson said.radioroyal+1

The Museum and Its Collection

The Musée Renoir was established in 1960 inside the former mansion of Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who lived on the hilltop property in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, until his death in 1919. The museum's collection includes 13 paintings by Renoir along with roughly 40 sculptures, photographs and pieces of furniture. Masson did not identify which paintings were taken, and investigations are ongoing. Renoir's most prized works have fetched tens of millions of dollars at auction in the past.latestly+2

A Pattern of Escalating Art Crime in Europe

The robbery follows a troubling trend across the continent. Europol warned last month that art thieves in Europe are carrying out increasingly violent heists, with specialist criminal gangs giving way to ad hoc groups of opportunists recruited through social media. The agency pointed to the October 2025 raid on the Louvre Museum in Paris as a striking example, in which thieves threatened guards and visitors before stealing jewels worth €88 million, including Empress Eugénie's tiara.globalbankingandfinance+2

Last month, four Renaissance paintings by 15th-century artist Antonello da Messina were also stolen from a museum in Sicily during Italy's summer national holiday.radioroyal

Investigation Underway

French authorities have not released descriptions of the suspects or details about which works remain missing. The Tuesday morning heist adds to growing pressure on European cultural institutions to bolster security as opportunistic theft continues to rise across the region.globalbankingandfinance+1