Three paintings worth $10m stolen from Renoir Museum in southern France

The two thieves had attempted to steal a fourth painting, but abandoned it as they ran from the museum.

Police officers patrol in front of the entrance of the Renoir Museum after three paintings were stolen in an early-morning break-in in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France on September 8, 2026 [Valery Hache/AFP]

Three paintings have been stolen from a museum dedicated to French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France in an early morning burglary.

Two thieves broke into the museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, a little before 6am (0400 GMT) and took four paintings, Mayor Bryan Masson said in a post on social media on Tuesday.

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“Spotted thanks to the town’s video surveillance cameras, the two individuals fled, abandoning one of the stolen paintings as they ran,” Masson said, adding his office estimated the value of the stolen works at 9 million euros ($10.5m).

“Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer. These actions are particularly serious.”

Masson did not identify the paintings that had been stolen.

The Renoir Museum was 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 some 40 sculptures made by the master.

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.

Investigators found two zippered bags in the museum garden that may have belonged to the suspects.

France’s Sub-Directorate for Combating Organised Crime and Specialised Delinquency is leading the investigation.

The theft comes less than a year after eight items valued at about $100m were stolen during a daylight robbery from the famed Louvre Museum in Paris.

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.

两名窃贼曾试图偷走第四幅画，但在逃离博物馆时放弃了这幅画。

2026年9月8日清晨，法国卡涅滨海雷诺阿博物馆发生入室盗窃案，三幅画作被盗。事后，警察在博物馆入口前巡逻。[Valery Hache/AFP]

在法国南部，一家专门展示法国印象派画家皮埃尔-奥古斯特·雷诺阿作品的博物馆在清晨遭遇入室盗窃，三幅画作被盗。

周二，尼斯附近的卡涅滨海博物馆市长布莱恩·马松在社交媒体上发帖称，两名窃贼于早上 6 点（格林尼治标准时间 04:00）前不久闯入博物馆，偷走了四幅画作。

历史图解：卢浮宫及其他著名博物馆劫案（共3条，此为第1条）

问题 2（共 3 个）：被盗的卢浮宫珠宝最终会落入谁的手中？劫匪会被抓获吗？

蒙娜丽莎与纳粹：屡遭劫掠，为何卢浮宫最近这起盗窃案有所不同

“多亏了镇上的视频监控摄像头，这两名嫌疑人逃跑时，丢弃了一幅被盗的画作，”马松说，并补充说，他的办公室估计被盗作品的价值为 900 万欧元（1050 万美元）。

“袭击雷诺阿博物馆就是袭击卡涅滨海小镇的历史和文化遗产。这些行为性质极其严重。”

马松没有指明被盗的画作是哪些。

雷诺阿博物馆于 1960 年在画家雷诺阿于 1919 年去世前的最后住所内开放。

馆藏包括雷诺阿的物品和家具，包括他的画架和轮椅，以及这位大师创作的 13 幅绘画和约 40 件雕塑作品。

市长表示，当局仅用了五分钟就做出了反应。

“博物馆的警报在早上5点48分响起。仅仅五分钟后，也就是5点53分，我们的市政警察就赶到了现场，”他说。

调查人员在博物馆花园里发现了两个拉链包，可能属于嫌疑人。

法国打击有组织犯罪和特殊犯罪分局正在牵头进行调查。

此次盗窃案发生不到一年前，巴黎著名的卢浮宫博物馆在光天化日之下遭到盗窃，价值约 1 亿美元的八件藏品被盗。

四名涉嫌抢劫卢浮宫的嫌犯已被逮捕，但尽管法国调查人员在巴黎地区进行了广泛的搜寻，并与比利时、意大利及其他地区的警方进行了交流，被盗物品仍未找到。