THREE PAINTINGS STOLEN FROM RENOIR MUSEUM IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

Two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, near Nice, in an early morning burglary on Tuesday, stealing artworks valued at 9 million euros (approximately £7.6 million). The burglary occurred shortly before 6am, with the museum alarm triggering at 5:48am. According to Mayor Bryan Masson, the two individuals were spotted by the town's video surveillance cameras and fled the scene, abandoning one of the four stolen paintings as they ran. Municipal police arrived within five minutes of the alarm being raised.

The Renoir Museum occupies the last home of French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir before his death in 1919, and opened to the public in 1960. Its collection comprises objects and furniture belonging to Renoir, including his easel and wheelchair, alongside 13 paintings and approximately 40 sculptures. The specific paintings taken in the burglary have not been publicly identified. Investigators discovered 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 occurs less than a year after a daylight robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where eight items valued at around $100 million were taken. Four suspects were arrested in connection with the Louvre theft, but the stolen items remain unfound despite extensive searches across the Paris region and international exchanges with police forces in Belgium, Italy and other countries.