Thieves steal works worth $10 million from Renoir museum in France

Pair of crooks grabbed four paintings by French impressionist painter, but dropped one as they ran off, Cagnes-sur-Mer mayor says

By Agencies 8 September 2026, 11:48 am

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Police officers patrol in front of the entrance of the Musee Renoir after four paintings, valued at $10 million, were stolen from the museum in an early-morning break-in, with the two suspects still at large, in Cagnes-sur-Mer on September 8, 2026. (Valery HACHE/AFP)

MARSEILLE, France — Two thieves broke into a museum dedicated to French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France on Tuesday, stealing “four works of art,” one of which they dropped as they fled, a mayor said.

“This morning, two individuals broke into the Renoir Museum and stole four works of art,” said Bryan Masson, the mayor of the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer.

Police spotted the thieves and gave chase.

“Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran,” he said, adding his office estimated the value of the stolen works at 9 million euros ($10 million). The titles of the works stolen have not been announced.

“Attacking the Renoir museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. These actions are particularly serious,” Masson said in a message posted to Facebook.

The Renoir Museum was opened in 1960 in the painter’s last home before his death in 1919.

The collection on display in the museum includes 13 paintings from the master, among them portraits, landscapes, and nudes, along with some 40 sculptures, as well as furniture and photographs, including his easel and wheelchair.

The mayor said it took just five minutes for the authorities to respond.

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

The theft comes less than a year after eight items valued at around $100 million were stolen during a daylight robbery from the Louvre in Paris, including Empress Eugenie’s tiara.

A police car outside the Louvre in Paris, October 26, 2025. (Thomas Padilla/AP)

The four suspected Louvre robbers have been arrested, but the stolen items have still not been found despite extensive searches by French investigators in the Paris region and exchanges with police in Belgium, Italy and beyond.

Art thieves in Europe are committing more violent robberies and specialist gangs have been replaced by ad hoc opportunists recruited through social media, pan-European police body Europol said last month.

The heist at ‌the Louvre Museum in Paris in October last year was a prime example of this, Europol said, as the thieves threatened guards and visitors.