Thieves Raid French Renoir Museum, Steal Three Paintings
Thieves Raid French Renoir Museum, Steal Three Paintings
The News
Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum on the French Riviera early Tuesday and stole three paintings, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer said.
The pair initially took four works — valued together at around €9 million, or about $10.5 million — but abandoned one as they ran, Mayor Bryan Masson said in a statement on his Facebook page.
The town's video surveillance system picked up the break-in and police gave chase, but both men escaped. Authorities did not immediately identify the three works still missing.
The Museum
The museum occupies the former home and studio of French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who spent the last years of his life in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice. The property, Villa Les Collettes, sits among gardens and olive trees.
Timeline
Thieves stole €88 million worth of jewels from the Louvre in Paris, a heist Europol has cited as an example of a new wave of brazen museum robberies, according to Deutsche Welle. The Louvre's Apollo Gallery reopened nine months after that theft.
Two thieves break into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, Masson said.
The town's surveillance cameras detect the intruders and police give chase. The pair escape, dropping one of the four stolen paintings as they flee.
Reuters reports the theft, citing the mayor's statement. Wire coverage grows to five outlets within the hour.
Reactions
"During their flight, they abandoned one of the stolen paintings," Masson said.
The mayor credited the town's video surveillance system with detecting the break-in. Police did not immediately release descriptions of the two suspects.
Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, says specialist theft gangs are increasingly being replaced by more opportunistic groups, sometimes assembled through social media, and that high prices for precious metals and other easily resold valuables have made museums attractive targets, Deutsche Welle reported.
Britain's The Sun, citing footage of the break-in, reported that the thieves cut the pictures out of their frames and put the value of the four works at about £8 million.
What's Next
French police are hunting the two men. Authorities have not yet named the three missing paintings, and no arrests have been announced.
Expect an official inventory of the stolen works and, if the pattern of recent European heists holds, scrutiny of how a museum housing Impressionist works was breached before dawn with two men on foot.
More
The Renoir Museum theft is the latest in a run of high-profile art and cultural-property thefts across Europe. Deutsche Welle notes that recent jobs have involved more brazen tactics, including the use of force or threats — the Louvre raid being the most prominent example.
Accounts of the haul differ. Reuters and Deutsche Welle report three paintings missing after one of four was dropped; The Independent and The Sun described four paintings taken, with The Independent also noting one was dropped on the way out.
Poll
What should museums do after a run of heists like this?
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