Thieves steal four Renoir paintings from French museum in latest art heist

Valery Heche/AFP/Getty Images

Thieves have stolen four paintings from the Renoir Museum in the south of France, with two later recovered, in the latest heist to hit the art world.

The museum’s alarm system went off at 5:48 a.m. local time Tuesday (11:48 p.m. ET Monday), and police arrived at the scene five minutes later, said Bryan Masson, mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, where the museum is located, in a post on Facebook.

The two thieves fled, dropping one of the paintings as they made their escape, said Masson, who is a member of the National Rally party.

At a press conference later Tuesday morning, Masson said that a second painting had been recovered from the garden of the museum.

Municipal and national police are still searching for the thieves, he added.

“An attack on the Renoir Museum is an attack on a part of the history and heritage of #CagnesSurMer,” wrote Masson in the Facebook post. “These incidents are particularly serious.”

The mayor also called for tougher security measures at museums in France.

“We will devote all necessary resources to better protect this heritage, which belongs to everyone who lives in Cagnes-sur-Mer,” added Masson.

In a separate post on Facebook, the Cagnes-sur-Mer town hall said that the museum would be closed until further notice.

CNN has contacted the town hall, the Renoir Museum and France’s Ministry of Culture for comment.

The incident comes nearly a year after the Louvre was targeted in an audacious raid, which saw thieves steal priceless items in just a few minutes.

Valery Heche/AFP/Getty Images

窃贼从法国南部的雷诺阿博物馆盗走了四幅画作，其中两幅后来被追回，这是艺术界最近发生的一起盗窃案。

据博物馆所在地卡涅滨海市市长布莱恩·马松在Facebook上发帖称，博物馆的警报系统于当地时间周二早上5点48分（美国东部时间周一晚上11点48分）响起，警方五分钟后到达现场。

据国民联盟党成员马松称，两名窃贼逃跑时，在逃跑过程中掉落了一幅画。

周二上午晚些时候举行的新闻发布会上，马松表示，第二幅画作已从博物馆花园中被找到。

他补充说，市级和国家级警察仍在搜捕窃贼。

“袭击雷诺阿博物馆就是袭击卡涅滨海的历史和文化遗产，”马松在脸书帖子中写道。“这些事件尤其严重。”

市长还呼吁法国各博物馆采取更严格的安保措施。

“我们将投入一切必要资源，更好地保护这一遗产，它属于所有居住在卡涅滨海的人们，”马松补充道。

卡涅市政府在Facebook上另行发布消息称，该博物馆将关闭，直至另行通知。

CNN已联系市政厅、雷诺阿博物馆和法国文化部征求意见。

此次事件发生在卢浮宫遭遇大胆盗窃案近一年之后，当时窃贼在短短几分钟内就偷走了无数无价之宝。