Police Launch Manhunt After Thieves Steal Renoir Paintings Worth Millions from French Riviera Museum

Image: The Skiff (La Yole) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

French authorities have launched a widespread manhunt after two thieves broke into the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, stealing Impressionist masterpieces estimated to be worth approximately $10.4 million (€9 million).

The predawn heist occurred on Tuesday morning when perpetrators breached the museum premises by cutting through a perimeter garden fence. The security system was triggered at 5:48 a.m., prompting municipal police officers to arrive at the scene within five minutes.

The quick response forced the fleeing suspects to abandon two of the stolen canvases in the museum gardens as they escaped. However, two major artworks—Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano and Young Woman at the Well—remain missing. Both missing paintings belong to Paris's Musée d'Orsay and were on loan to the French Riviera institution.

"Attacking the Renoir Museum is attacking a part of the history and heritage of Cagnes-sur-Mer," said Mayor Bryan Masson, praising law enforcement's swift response for preventing a total loss of the target pieces.

Investigators are reviewing local video surveillance footage to track the suspects. The incident marks the latest high-profile art theft in France, following the major robbery at the Louvre in Paris last year.